Jeremy Bensette has travelled more than 90,000 kilometres across Ontario over the course of 2017 in pursuit of his passion: bird watching. Eleven months after beginning his "Big Year," the 27-year-old has broken the record for the most bird species spotted in a single year in Ontario.

Nearly 500 different species birds have been spotted in the province according to Ontario Field Ornithologists – nearly 300 of which are known to breed in Ontario. In less than a year, Bensette spotted 343 bird species across the province.

"It was a pretty crazy moment. I kind of just set out to do the best that I could do this year, I never really aimed to beat any records, but I guess it worked out well," Bensette told CTV’s your Morning on Friday.

"I guess I’m a more competitive birder than most, my main mentors are some of Ontario’s most competitive birders in history."

The Leamington, Ont., resident tied the record on Nov. 21 by sighting a Mountain Bluebird in Waterloo, Ont. A day later, Bensette spotted a Northern Gannet through his friend’s telescope in Hamilton, breaking the record previously set by his friend Josh Vandermeulen in 2012.

Bensette and fellow bird-watcher Tim Arthur were headed to Cornwall to try to find rare geese on the day Bensette broke the record. 

After "loafing around" late into the morning, Arthur and Bensette began their drive toward Ottawa when they heard about a rare Northern Gannet spotted in Hamilton, Ont., Bensette said.

They turned the car around and caught sight of the bird just before dark.

It was a highly anticipated moment, as the 27-year-old spent two years preparing for what he called his "Big Year." In the birding community, a "Big Year" is when someone looks for a species of bird within a specific geographic region over a predetermined period of time – usually over the span of 12 months.

"If one wants to be really successful, you really have to plan this out," Bensette said.

Growing up near Point Pelee National Park, Bensette was in the hub of Canada’s bird-watching scene. But it wasn’t until his early adult years that he quit his hobby of video games and took up bird watching.

"It’s a cool intellectual topic," Bensette said. "Coming from a background of video games, I liked exploring unique worlds – but to be able to do that in real life? Nothing compares to that."

For much of the year, Bensette also worked as a surveyor for Bird Studies Canada; however, the birder says he kept work commitments "a little limited" to make time for his hobby. After accomplishing a record-breaking year, Bensette says he plans to spot even more bird species.

"Going to keep getting the number up. We’ll be heading out to a big field, hopefully to look through 50,000-plus snow geese to look for a European goose. It’s been found the last two years in November in this area so we’re going to find one," Bensette said.