The 10th Annual New Haven Bird Club Big Sit! is in the books. The event continues to spread across the US and around the globe. This year we added two new states, Utah and West Virginia, and two new countries, Spain and our first South American circle, Peru. Records continue to be broken in all statistical categories: circles - 136 (116 last year), Sitters! - 554+ (460+), States/Countries - 35 (31), Species - 663 (609). Throughout the event's existence, we have seen 777 species - roughly 8% of all the birds found on earth!
This report can be seen at the NHBC's website members.aol.com/nhbirdclub. We will also include a variety of photos along with captains' anecdotes. Follow the link for The Big Sit!.
Stories from the Field
Every Big Sit! is laced with great stories of birds and birders.
Reach out and touch someone - Cell phone contact was made between some circles. Betsy Thomas in Newburyport, Massachusetts called her father's circle in Allendale, New Jersey to check out how they were doing. In Milford, Connecticut the "Surf Scopers" and "Bald Eagles" can see each other on opposite sides of a large marsh. During the Sit! the Scopers alerted the Eagles about a Peregrine Falcon to the north of their circle.
Sniper Madness - In 2001 we were dealing with the anthrax mail contamination not to mention the aftershock of September 11th. This year the mid-Atlantic region was in the midst of the sniper attacks. Says Rich Rieger of Alexandria, Virginia, "We had some people dropout due to the sniper madness."
Competition - Birders faced some competition for their areas this year. In Ukiah, California, the "Twitch Whiffers" were setup near a camporee of 1000 kids. On South Padre Island, Texas, the "World Birding Center Islanders" had to contend with 5000 motorcycle conventioneers. The folks in Mica Bay, Idaho had to deal with the aftermath of the first day of waterfowl season - "3 dead ducks - one Mallard drake, a possible Northern Pintail drake, and one that we couldn't even guess at."
Families - Looking for a thrush (Turdidae)? Try Fort Motte, South Carolina, where they had 6 species including two new to The Big Sit! master list - Veery and Gray-cheeked Thrush. How about alcids (Alcidae)? The frontyard of Rebecca Cheek in South Beach, Oregon, is where you want to be. From a deck they saw Common Murre, Marbled Murrelet, and Rhinoceros Auklet. The latter two are new to TBS! master list.
"Here Comes the Sun"
Many circles wished to say those words at dawn on October 13th. Unfortunately for many, clouds, rain, and/or fog blocked that view. Similar to TBS! 2001, much of the eastern US was getting hit by a fall storm which made conditions miserable for birding. The folks at Centennial Park in Howard County, Maryland, had their lowest TBS! count ever and had a fraction of the usual number of Sitters!. Bad weather was also present in Europe as the English and Dutch circles experienced overcast conditions and rain. Ton Eggenhuizen in Flevoland, The Netherlands, said "In the early morning just two bouts of sunshine - in total 7 seconds". That was 7 more seconds than in my backyard. And for the second year in a row, Mike Petrucha of Houghton Lake, Michigan, had his scope blow over.
Of course, with an international event, there have to be some spots with sun. Sitters! in Macon, Missouri enjoyed a cold but sunny day. Terry Brodner of Phoenix, Arizona enjoyed sun and temperatures in the high eighties. A sunburn was the price for the good weather.
Remember this is The Big SIT!
While The Big Sit! expounds the virtues of being stationary, some people had the need and/or desire to travel on TBS! day. Richard McCormick usually Sits! in his backyard in Oxford, Connecticut, but was down along the New Jersey shore this year. He managed to see a few species that don't normally visit his inland backyard including Northern Gannet, Sanderling, and Brown Pelican. Shannon Mayorga would normally be Sitting! in Key West, Florida, but instead was in Seattle, Washington. Suffice it to say, she was the only south Floridian to see Steller's Jay on TBS! day.
Some people traveled long distances to Sit!. Vicki Hatfield of Grove, Oklahoma gave up her backyard circle to join the "Edge-of-the-Earthers" in Lexington, OK. James R. Hill III of the Purple Martin Conservation Association drove 4 hours from Erie, Pennsylvania to Whipple, Ohio to join the Indigo Hill crowd. Unfortunately, James did not bring any Purple Martins with him.
Some people traveled between circles. Rich Rieger and others traveled between two circles in Alexandria, Virginia, that were manned by the Northern Virginia Bird Club. Georgette Guernsey started out at Kurth Lake in Angelina County, Texas, on land that is owned by a paper mill. Access is only by key, and she says, "Kurth Lake is one of the few areas we are allowed to bird freely so we guard the privilege carefully." After leaving Kurth Lake she managed to go to church, play piano, and then continue birding in her Lufkin, Texas, backyard.
In Essex County, Ontario, Tom Hince made it out to his circle at Holiday Beach Conservation Area and tallied 87 species in only a few hours then left around noon. Tom's own words can fill in the rest of the story: "As I was leaving the tower my cell phone rang and it was friend Paul Pratt checking to see how I had fared. After I told him, he chuckled that he had checked the website out and that the event was on SUNDAY! I couldn't believe it, but sure enough when I got home I immediately verified his news. Fortunately on Sunday Paul was able to help me out with the Sit!…so again on Sunday morning I got up early and made the trek to the tower." Tom only got 83 species on Sunday, but since that included the Golden Bird!, I think the sting of embarrassment has worn off.
Add it to the List
We added 88 species to our 10-year-old Big Sit! master list. Many of these, as you would expect, were in Peru, Spain, and other locations where TBS! is fairly new.
Site lists were the beneficiaries of our October 13th endeavors. Clark's Grebe was added to the species list at Lake Sammamish State Park in Washington. Chuck-wills-widow was added to the site list of Dairy Lake in Texas as well as The Big Sit! master list. Bill Thompson III and crew added Black-crowned Night Heron to the Indigo Hill Birding Tower's list in Whipple, Ohio. In Maryland they added the 196th bird to the site list at Fort McHenry Park - Clay-colored Sparrow. Meanwhile the state's second record of Eurasian Collared-dove was seen at Assateague Island.
Life lists were also enhanced. Stacy Hanks in Milford, Connecticut, added American Bittern to her life list while Herb Fibel got to add Bay-breasted Warbler in Mesa, Arizona.
Many circles keep track of their all-time Big Sit! list. Tops (that we know of) is Elfin Forest in Los Osos, California, with 160 species. Other all-time TBS! lists include: Milford Point, Connecticut, with 134 species (10 years); Lexington, Oklahoma, with 41 species (3 years); Granite Reef, Arizona, with 107 species; Allendale, New Jersey, with 93 species (8 years); and Unionville, Indiana, with 108 species (7 years).
Long Time, No See
We were glad to have a couple locations and species back that we haven't had for a few years. It has been four years since a Black Tern appeared on our species list. Five years ago (1997) was the last time we had a circle in Iowa. During that Sit!, we had our last glimpses of Yellow-throated Vireo, Red Phalarope, and California Gnatcatcher until this year. Canada had the longest absence that was erased this year. The last time a Canadian circle appeared in The Big Sit! was in 1995 in British Columbia.
What's Cooking?
Sitters! enjoyed a diverse menu on October 13th. Chili was popular in the Midwest at circles in Macon, Missouri, and Lexington, Oklahoma. This fall's apple harvest made it into an apple pie in Macon and apple crisps in Whipple, Ohio.
Birds were also feasting at feeders, marshes, and woods near our circles. Two stories standout from the rest. The first was a pair of Red-tailed Hawks who caught a squirrel in Webster, Texas. As one ate and the other watched, a pair of White-tailed Hawks came by to harass them and see if they could snag a morsel. Perhaps the best story came from Jesse Fagan in Nacogdoches, Texas. He observed a Bald Eagle harassing some Forster's Terns. To his amazement, the eagle actually snatched one of the terns out of the air and flew off to the nearby forest - tern in talons.
The Final Word:
As always, if you find anything that is wrong, please let me know. There is so much to keep track of, I could have forgotten or misplaced something along the way. Your patience with my limitations is greatly appreciated. The future looks bright for The Big Sit! as Bird Watcher's Digest will take-on a bigger role. Now that this is over, I have about 6-7 weeks to recuperate before sugaring season starts up here. Then I will put myself through another month of sleep-deprived torture.