Strycker, a 30-year-old full-time birder and bird book author, spent time on all seven continents to amass the historic list.

“Maybe the best part was meeting hundreds of local birders around the world and spending time with them in the field. I discovered that birding has become a truly international pursuit. Just as many birds are facing an uncertain future, interest in them has never been greater.

“I have an optimistic view of the future. Birding is taking flight in this new millennium.”

Eugene-based birder Noah Strycker just completed his “Big Year.” That’s what birders call an attempt to rack up the largest number of bird species sightings in one year within a certain geographical area. Strycker’s area? The world. He traveled to 41 countries in 2015 and saw or heard 6,042 species of birds. The previous world record was 4,341. Think Out Loud interviewed Strycker. Here are six things we learned.

I meet Noah Strycker early on a rainy morning at Fern Ridge Reservoir in West Eugene. He says this is the best birding spot in Western Oregon. “In the winter, 10s of thousands of Canada Geese and hundreds of tundra swans roost out here at night and in the morning, they fly out to all the farm fields so they can spend the day eating out there. What I’m hoping is a few will fly over our heads while we’re standing out here.”

“Occupy Malheur? Strategically, that’s like taking over a rest stop,” Strycker said. “As this episode continues, though, I’m angry. These guys don’t care about anyone’s interest except their own, and they have no idea where they are. Malheur is a special place to Oregonians and to birders. It’s remote, desolate, and starkly beautiful; the kind of place where Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese stop traffic.”

Big Years are inherently dramatic, particularly when the record is there to be broken. In the case of former Birding associate editor Noah Strycker, this last month of his global quest was less about the record he smashed weeks ago and more about the impossible bar he was about to set.

KOTA KINABALU: Noah Strycker is no ordinary birder. The writer for the blog ‘Birding Without Borders’ is on a ‘Big Year’ mission to set a new world record of most sighted birds in one year. Big Year is a term used by the birding community to refer to their most eventful year in birding.

Eugene birder Noah Strycker has achieved his goal of seeing 5,000 different birds during his international “Big Year” of birding. Strycker unofficially broke the “Big Year” world record last month when he spotted his 4,342nd bird in India.

Since beginning his birding career at the age of 10, Noah Strycker has always kept his eyes skyward. “Birds are a great way for people around the world to connect with nature. Birds are accessible, interesting and somewhat mysterious,” said the 29-year-old from the US, who set a world record on Sept. 16 for notching up the most birds spotted in a calendar year.

Noah Strycker, the ornithologist and author from Eugene, recently broke the world record for counting the most species in a single year and is well on his way to his goal of 5,000.