Falcon Freeway: A Big Year of Birding on a Budget

When Christian Hagenlocher left home to go birding in January he had little confidence it would evolve into an opportunity many birders only dream about. The 26-year-old Biology teacher turned 2016 into a record-breaking Big Year, spotting over 750 species of birds across North America and becoming the youngest person to do so. Inspired by previous birding quests including Kenn Kaufman’s Kingbird Highway and Roger Tory Peterson’s Wild America , Christian traversed the continent in his Subaru Outback, eating Ramen noodles and sleeping in Wal-Mart parking lots, proving that one doesn’t have to be wealthy or jet set to rack up an impressive list of birds. Falcon Freeway follows a budding naturalist’s incredible journey across the continent, following birds to amazing places while persevering through adversity and exploring the continent one bird at a time.