The (Big) Year that Flew By

Arjan Dwarshuis, a professional bird guide, writer, and lecturer, holds the current Guinness Book World Record for observing the largest number of bird species in a single year. In 2016, he launched his global “Big Year” and ultimately observed 6,852 of the world’s roughly 10,700 bird species, setting a record that stands to this day. His yearlong adventure raised nearly $50,000 for the BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Program. Arjan also starred in the award-winning documentary Arjan’s Big Year and appears regularly on radio, television, and podcast programs in the Netherlands and beyond. He is a columnist for several magazines about nature, and as the ambassador for the IUCN NL Land Acquisition Fund, he is committed to the protection of birds across the globe. Mark Obmascik is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author. His first nonfiction book, The Big Year, was turned into a Hollywood movie. His second, Halfway to Heaven, was winner of the National Outdoor Book Award for Outdoor Literature. He was winner of the National Press Club Award for Environmental Journalism, and lead writer for the Denver Post team that won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the Columbine High School massacre. He and his wife live in Denver. They have three sons.