BIG YEARSThe record number of species spotted in a Big Year is 745 by Sandy Komito of New Jersey in 1998.Lynn Barber of Fort Worth, Texas, logged 723 species in 2008 and a Virginia birder, Bob Ake, got 731 in 2010.A Colorado birder, John Vanderpool, is in the midst of a Big Year and already has 711 birds. Matt Stenger of Cincinnati has about 650 species as his 2011 Big Year continues.In 2010, Chris Hitt of North Carolina got 704 species in the Lower 48 states only.The No. 1 birder with the most species on his “life list” is Michigan professor Macklin Smith with 880, according to the 2009 list from the Colorado-based American Birding Association. There are 27 birders with more than 800.Greg Miller of Sugarcreek had 768 species when he stopped keeping track and chasing new ones. That puts him among the Top 70 birders in the country for life lists. He recorded 715 birds in 1998 in his Big Year.Bill Osborne of Cuyahoga Falls is 109th with 750 species.— BOB DOWNING