The Big Year

By Denice Rovira Hazlett
September 28, 2011
1104

PRINT VERSION: Summary: Sugarcreek birder Greg Miller's adventure began with a quest to catch a glimpse of some of North America's rarest avian species. He had no idea that, as a result, he'd end up seeing some of it's brightest stars as well. Story: Greg Miller was winging his way over the Bering Sea, bound for some of the world's most wicked weather, with winds exceeding 70 mph, driving snow and bone-chilling sleet. He was underprepared for the damp, cramped pre-World War II bunker, having accidentally taken along a rain suit several sizes too small and inadequate sleeping gear. He would come away with a respiratory infection that would haunt him for months, maybe years, to come. Still, Miller was ecstatic. He had saved for this trip to Attu, an Aleutian Island 750 miles off Alaska's mainland, taking five weeks of vacation from computer programming for a nuclear power plant in Baltimore for this. Miller was beyond ecstatic. He was obsessed. He wasn't the only one. Sixty others were headed for Attu, all with the same goal--birding. Miller was on a Big Year, a quest to view the largest number of species from January to December 1989, with a personal goal of spotting 600 birds within the American Birding Association's geographic limits for North America. Sandy Komito, 66, a retired roofing contractor from New Jersey, was returning to Attu. He also had a personal goal--to break his 1987 ABA record of 726 birds. "When planning my second Big Year, I asked myself how I could better the effort I made the first year. I knew Attu would be closing soon. I couldn't wait much longer. When I heard there would be another El Nino in 1998, I had to go." And while it had been just what Komito had envisioned, for Miller, it was pure luck. When Miller returned from Alaska, he'd met his personal goal of 600 species. He was satisfied, and, as far as he was concerned, his Big Year was over. But then, fellow birder Kyle Rambo shot him with a dose of reality. "Let me get this straight," Rambo said. "The record is 726. You're at 611 and the year is only half over? You're not even going to try for 700? Just when do you think you're going to be at this point again?" Rambo was right. Miller asked his manager for two more weeks of vacation and flex time. He turned to his parents for a loan. After all, his father had introduced him to birding as a child in Sugarcreek. "Dad got me started," said Miller. "Whenever we'd see a new species, we'd write it down. Every year, we'd try to beat the previous list." When all was said and done, Komito's Big Year cost him as much as $12,000 per month. That's roughly $1,000 per bird. "I'm not rich," said Komito, now 80. "I just spend money like I am. I like what I'm doing, so I do it. I like to live like every day is my last." Miller was facing more than money challenges. In Attu, he had contracted an ear infection and a nasty cough that wouldn't quit, but there was no time to recover. "Records don't wait for convenience," said Miller. "I pushed hard. By early September, I'd reached the 700 mark." It took a quarter of Miller's total expenses to list his last elusive 14 species. He was gaining ground, but Komito wasn't worried. By year's end, Miller had invested $30,000 and traveled 300,000 miles while working a full-time job. The retired Komito had spent $140,000, traveling 270 out of the 365 days. By December 31, Komito had documented 745 species of birds. And Miller? "I didn't make the record," he said. Miller was the second ABA North American record-holder that year with 715 species, a feat which surprised even him. "To have gotten that number by working and birding at the same time sounded insane to me," said Miller. "I didn't think it was possible." In 2004, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Mark Obmascik released The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession, after spending hundreds of hours with the top three ABA birders, including retired chief executive Al Levitan. After years as a reporter, covering the less-than-uplifting aspects of human nature, Obmascik was ready for something different. "I really felt like I got lucky with this," said Obmascik whose book reached 35 on the New York Times bestseller list. "These guys were a blast." Miller, Obmascik said, was exceptional. "He's a fantastic birder and a great guy. He's patient, has a lot of enthusiasm, and puts honesty, loyalty and integrity above winning." A version of Miller will hit the big screen on Fri., Oct. 14, with the release of The Big Year, a movie based on Obmascik's book, starring Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, and Jack Black as a character inspired by Miller. Thanks to Obmascik's recommendation, Miller served as one of the film's bird consultants. On the Vancouver set, Miller birded with Black, dined with director David Frankel, and spilled chicken salad on the floor of Wilson's brand new Cadillac CTS. "They treated me like a king," said Miller, who is back in Sugarcreek working as a database programmer for Timken, maintaining gregmillerbirding.com, and offering custom birding tours. His Big Year, he said, was also his best year, a time when he lifted his eyes toward a goal. Non-birders might think it's all a little crazy, but Miller doesn't regret a thing. "I would have done it again without any accolades. It's what I wanted more than anything else," said Miller, "and I got to do it."

The Big Year

Pleasant View Furniture

Helping Hands Quilt Shop & Museum