What dream, what hope, what despair drives us to do the things we do, just to desert us when the deed is done? What hollow things are they, motive and reason, born at night to fade so quickly in the sunlight of consequence? What we do in life lives on inside us, long after ambition and fear lie frosted and opaqued on forgotten shores. What we do in life, more than what we think or say, is what we are.
The Mountain Shadow by Gregory David Roberts
All good things must come to an end – also my African Big Year. I am sitting in Daai Dêng, in a campground near Stellenbosch, filled with a profound thankfulness for a very successful Big Year. I was privileged to bird 21 African countries, meet amazing people, make acquaintance with strange cultures and customs, see breath-taking places and survive the onslaught of African roads, gyppo guts, mosquitos and tsetse flies.
Today I did not find any new birds for the year list, so the last bird to be ticked on my African Big Year was an Agulhas Long-billed Lark found on 30 December at Protem in the Overberg. This brings my total to 1566 birds on my personal African list (which includes subspecies that will/may in future receive full species status). My official IOC World Bird list for the year stands at 1541, HBW Alive list at 1516 and Clements list at 1508. I adhered to the rules and regulations of the American Birding Association for a Big Year, and they determine that the Clements list be used for all Big Year quests outside the United States. My initial target for the Big Year was 1500 birds, which I exceeded by 8 birds.
While waiting for the new year to commence within a couple of minutes, I am celebrating the successful completion of this Big Year with a few glasses of Horny Owl Shiraz – an excellent and appropriately named wine to end the year. Just one last thought – imparted to Ken Kaufman, a previous American Big Year record holder:
“The list total isn’t important, but the birds themselves are important. Every bird you see. So the list is just a frivolous incentive for birding, but the birding itself is worthwhile. It’s like a trip where the destination doesn’t have any significance except for the fact that it makes you travel. The journey is what counts.”
Rich Stallcup to Ken Kaufman in Kingbird Highway
This is the Vagrant Twitcher signing off!