Hancock County Big Year!
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Peter Vickery
Jan 3, 2015, 2:18:10 PM1/3/15
to Maine Birds
I’d like to expand on Rich’s Hancock County Big Year idea, see below.
Why not decide to do a Big Year in your county of residence, or one nearby?
Many of us love to travel to see unusual and rare birds like the Western Tanager and it’s great fun.
But if you consider a Big Year in your county, you very quickly need to figure out where you might find various species that are easily seen at Scarborough Marsh or other major bird sites. Think about Stilt Sandpiper, it’s annual in numbers at Scarborough but much more challenging to see further east and inland, but not impossible. Planning a county Big Year will force you to think more about your local habitats and you’re likely to find interesting spots that you’d previously ignored. Instead of driving a fair distance to Evergreen Cemetery for spring migrants, burning fossil fuels, where would I go in Sagadahoc County? Stilt Sandpiper is tough to see in Sag Co but if I devoted more thought and time, I’m pretty sure I could find some.
It’s a way to drive shorter distances and to discover local treasures. And most of the discoveries would be yours, not simply going to a known spot where others have reported Stilt Sandpipers or whatever.
Hope some of you will try it.
Happy New Year and may many exciting birds lurk in your local patches.
Best, Peter
Begin forwarded message:
From: Rich MacDonald <ri...@thenaturalhistorycenter.com>Subject: Hancock County Big Year!Date: January 3, 2015 at 11:49:24 AM ESTTo: Rich MacDonald <ri...@thenaturalhistorycenter.com>Happy New Year, one and all!
In order to encourage people to post their sightings to eBird, The Natural History Center is issuing a 2015 Big Year challenge: a year-long Big Year competition in Hancock County, Maine. At the end of the year, the birder reporting the most species will win a field guide of their choice from The Natural History Center.
To participate, all data must be entered into eBird. All birds observed in Hancock County, Maine, between 01 January 2015 and 31 December 2015 count toward the final tally. You can bird solo, with friends, or with groups. If you find a truly good bird, please post it to the Facebook page of The Natural History Center so others know about it. And feel free to share this with anyone you think may be interested.
Happy birding!Richard MacDonaldThe Natural History Center6 Firefly LaneP.O. Box 6Bar Harbor, Maine 04609207/801-2617 (store)207/266-9461 (mobile)
Norman Famous
Jan 3, 2015, 3:05:17 PM1/3/15
to Peter Vickery, Maine Birds
Peter,
This is a great idea. I find it is more challenging and takes more thought/planning (as you mentioned) and skill to dig out more uncommon local birds than to routinely run to hot spots, which is also fun and poses a different set of challenges.
Norm
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David Doubleday
Jan 3, 2015, 4:09:26 PM1/3/15
to maine...@googlegroups.com
Peter, I hope more will do this. I have been challenging myself this way in York County for several years. It can be very rewarding. Cheers! Dave
Scott Richardson
Jan 4, 2015, 8:59:52 AM1/4/15
to Maine-Birds
On the Big Year theme I'd add that York County Audubon has just begun its fifth "Quest for 300," a collective effort to find 300 species in the county. It's a just-for-fun goal tracked through eBird, this list, and the grapevine. The 2015 list currently stands at 82. We've made it to 300 once so far:
2015: 82
2014: 284
2013: 278
2012: 301
2011: 295
2015: 82
2014: 284
2013: 278
2012: 301
2011: 295
* They are: Acton, Alfred, Arundel, Berwick, Biddeford, Buxton, Cornish, Dayton, Eliot, Hollis, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Kittery, Lebanon, Limerick, Limington, Lyman, Newfield, North Berwick, Ogunquit, Old Orchard Beach, Parsonsfield, Saco, Sanford, Shapleigh, South Berwick, Waterboro, Wells, York
Rich MacDonald
Jan 4, 2015, 1:14:26 PM1/4/15
to maine...@googlegroups.com
I truly enjoy birding locally. In my case, that is Mount Desert Island (MDI). For me, birding serves many purposes. Not that I need it, but it is yet another excuse to get outdoors. By contributing my observations to eBird, I get satisfaction through knowing I am contributing helping ornithologists better understand bird populations and distributions. And personally, I enjoy the challenge of trying to best my previous years tally.
Each year, I set 200 as my magical goal for the number of species I identify on MDI. While I have only achieved it once, in 2013 (that year I smashed my previous best effort by 35 species!), it is something to work toward. The following is my MDI tallies for the past five years:
2010 – 184 species
2011 – 186 species
2012 – 185 species
2013 – 221 species
2014 – 188 species
This year, expanding my local birding quest to include all of Hancock County, I aspire to identify 220 species.
Whether you follow the birds at your feeder, in your neighborhood, your town, your county, or statewide, consider setting yourself a challenge for 2015. Not only is it fun, but it may even help your skill as a birder.
Richard MacDonald
The Natural History Center
6 Firefly Lane
P.O. Box 6
Bar Harbor, Maine 04609
207/801-2617 (store)
207/266-9461 (mobile)
Ri...@TheNaturalHistoryCenter.com
Mike Fahay
Jan 6, 2015, 2:01:57 PM1/6/15
to maine...@googlegroups.com
Just one other thought (or suggestion) re: Big Years based on limited area, in case some of you are uncomfortable with adhering to political boundaries, since birds don't seem to obey them.
How about a reasonably sized area defined by its physiography? For example, all of Maine's Mountains with summits over 3,000'. The western half of The County (e.g. North Maine Woods) vs: the eastern half (a mix of agric. and woods.)
I'm thinking of the Midcoast "Peninsulas" south of Rt 1. Seems like any bird found on one peninsula therein would be as likely to show up on another one. The area would span parts of 4 counties and extend from the Harpswell "Peninsulas" to roughly Rockland. Habitats would include the ocean, major and minor bays and coves, estuarine marshes and a few beaches, lower tidal portions of rivers, and mostly wooded areas, mixed with some development, but with limited agricultural fields. Pretty much have to go north of Rt 1 for those.
The result of such a list would really define distribution with a slant toward the ecology of the area chosen. Rather than lines drawn because of school districts or tax bases. Birds don't care about the latter.
How about a reasonably sized area defined by its physiography? For example, all of Maine's Mountains with summits over 3,000'. The western half of The County (e.g. North Maine Woods) vs: the eastern half (a mix of agric. and woods.)
I'm thinking of the Midcoast "Peninsulas" south of Rt 1. Seems like any bird found on one peninsula therein would be as likely to show up on another one. The area would span parts of 4 counties and extend from the Harpswell "Peninsulas" to roughly Rockland. Habitats would include the ocean, major and minor bays and coves, estuarine marshes and a few beaches, lower tidal portions of rivers, and mostly wooded areas, mixed with some development, but with limited agricultural fields. Pretty much have to go north of Rt 1 for those.
The result of such a list would really define distribution with a slant toward the ecology of the area chosen. Rather than lines drawn because of school districts or tax bases. Birds don't care about the latter.
On Saturday, January 3, 2015 2:18:10 PM UTC-5, Peter Vickery wrote:
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