John Vanderpoel is a lifelong birder and the creator of the critically acclaimed Advanced Birding Video Series with Jon Dunn. In 2011, John set off to undertake a North American Big Year. His whirlwind adventure took him to the edges of the continent. He sailed the high seas with the Admiral of the Atlantic, the Queen Bee of the Western Sea and a modern-day mystic. He raced ATVs over the stones of St. Lawrence Island with the Czar and up a snow-covered pass on Adak Island in the middle of December with a frontier man. Along the way, he tallied more North American birds in one year than he'd seen in his entire life and met scores of interesting people, including many of the legends of the birding world. He wasn't searching for the meaning of life – he was too busy living it. For three hundred and sixty-five incredible days.
"Full Chase Mode is well written and carries the excitement and flavor of a Big Year. The Gambell adventure is unlike any other experience a birder will encounter in the 'lower 48' and John takes us there – capturing the thrills, the panic, the satisfaction, the boredom, the disappointments of missed birds that were anticipated, and the surprises – both birds and otherwise."
– Jon Dunn, noted author and senior trip leader for Wings Birding Tours