It was a record-setting year for Josh Yoder and his bird-spotting skills

Richard Branson is credited with a meaningful quote about records. "Records are made to be broken," he said. "It is in man's nature to continue to strive to do just that." While many may try, only a few are able to accomplish something truly special. Josh Yoder is one of the few. I've written before about birding competitions, in which birders keep track of the species they have seen over a given area and a given time period. Most notably is the "Big Year," in which birders compete to see the most birds across the country over a calendar year. However, the reality is that not many birders have the time and money to zoom back and forth across the country. Instead, they look at more reasonable competitions, such as a big year for Ohio — who can see the most birds in the state during a calendar year. And as time goes on, records are created and then broken. To set such a record requires good fortune, indeed, for birds who do not enter the Buckeye State cannot be seen in the Buckeye State. But good fortune by itself is not enough. Breaking a record like this requires absolute commitment and perseverance. It is about stamina and drive. The competition is recorded on eBird, the birding data site that stores this information — though to be fair, not every birder uses eBird. Until last year, the record for most bird species recorded in a year in the state was held by Dan Gesualdo, who is the president of the Firelands Audubon. He recorded 324 bird species in 2017. The new record was set by Yoder in 2021. It was a good year for birds in Ohio, as a total of five birders broke the record of 324. Twenty-four birders saw 300 or more species. But Yoder came out on top by not only breaking the record, but smashing it with a total of 333 bird. In fact, Yoder saw 95.97 percent of all the bird species seen in Ohio in 2021, where 347 total species had been recorded. Yoder said he started birding with his cousins when he was 12. "I went with them a couple times and really loved it, but I didn't really get into birding seriously until the fall of 2019," he said. In 2020, Yoder saw an impressive 308 species. He decided in December to do a big year in 2021 as he was chasing lifers. "I hadn't planned on doing one but I knew I would be chasing any state lifers, so I decided to turn it into a big year," he said. "I chased a lot of birds in 2020 but didn't consider it a big year." Doing a big year takes not only tremendous commitment, it requires flexibility to be able to chase a bird two or three hours away at a moment's notice. "I work at Berlin Gardens in the shipping department, which allowed me to take off to chase birds almost whenever I wanted to," Yoder said. "Without that it would not have been possible to do a big year." As with any journey, there are trying times, joyful triumphs and the one who got away. Yoder said his favorite bird was "easily" the gyrfalcon in Mahoning County in March. "Falcons are some of my favorite birds and a gyrfalcon was always a dream bird that I never thought I would see in Ohio, much less the year I was doing a big year," he said. The most challenging bird was the Chuck-will's-widow, a nocturnal nightjar, in which he drove around for four hours listening for it. There was no debating the one that got away. "The Anhinga in Cuyahoga County in May was by far the most painful miss of the year, as I missed it by about five minutes," Yoder said. "Still hurts to this day and probably won't stop hurting until I see one in Ohio somewhere. I did not miss any birds that would be considered must-haves, so I can't complain too much about missing some of the birds that I missed." Doing a big year is a journey, a 365-day grind in which every time you turn on your phone, you can be tempted to hop in the car to drive. It is a birding obsession, as it would be difficult to focus on something else if you knew you were missing perhaps your only chance at a rare bird. It is an hour-by-hour and day-by-day dedication. A big year can take a lot out of someone, and Yoder says he doesn't have plans to do it again this year. "I don't have any plans of doing another Ohio big year unless someone breaks the record — then I just might have to do it again. Hopefully it doesn't happen anytime soon," he said. "A lower 48 big year would be a dream come true, but I have to travel the next couple of years to get to know birds from the west and southwest a lot better before such a thing is possible. It is definitely something I'd consider doing once I have the time and money to do it." The obsession of birding and the drive to break a record can be difficult to explain, but like for a lot of us, it is about the places it takes us. "I always have a hard time explaining the exact reasons that I like birding and listing birds," Yoder said. "A lot of the reasons have to do with that I love traveling and seeing areas that I've never seen before — and birds just add to it. No one in my family would be considered a birder, but my mom and dad enjoy birds and go birding a few times a year." Congratulations on a special year.