We just got back late last night from the 3rd annual Georgia Youth Birding Competition. We were blessed in so many ways, from good weather (only 10 minutes of rain while we were driving, in spite of dire warnings for bad weather), stamina for the boys (in bed at midnight, they popped right up at 6 a.m., ready to go again before dawn), good attitudes, perseverance, well-trained minds, and a plethora of birds to see and hear.
ITINERARY
We started off at E. L. Huie on Friday night, taking in Newman Wetlands and
Shamrock/Blalock that evening as well, then we drove to Charlie Elliot and
did some night birding there. By the time the boys went to bed they had 48 species, just 3 shy of their last year’s total. Knox felt sure he had heard a Lark Bunting at E. L. Huie, so we recorded it on the video camera, but couldn’t count it on our list, as it was too rare.
We slept in Room 25 Building B on the Charlie Elliot property. The next morning they started before dawn on
the Charlie Elliot property. We started walking behind the Brooke Agar discovery center about 6:45 as dawn broke. We tried to follow the yellow trail, but it kept going and going and going! After 45 minutes, 6 year old C.A. was getting hungry and there was no end in sight. So we decided to turn back. In spite of the long early morning hike, people maintained a good attitude. The boys managed to add another 19 species to their count during their morning hike. The highlight for 8 year old K. was that he insisted he heard a yellow-billed cuckoo but no one would believe him. He kept hearing it, but no one else did. After more hiking, he heard it again and this time it was confirmed. Everyone heard it, and he felt vindicated…and thrilled, as it was another life bird for him.
After 30 minutes for breakfast at Charlie Elliot, we traveled to Bond Swamp and some areas
on/near the Piedmont NWR before returning to Charlie Elliot for the awards
ceremony and banquet that evening. We picked up 9 species in the Bond Swamp area, all birding by ear, and a few more along the highway. We got lost a bit on the way to Bond Swamp (see directions here for future reference). Most memorable were a large flock of feeding black vultures on the side of the highway…hilarious. We also saw a female American Kestrel on a wire (a first for all of us) and a red-tailed hawk in a tree (the closest we’ve ever seen this bird in the wild). We could not count the Least Flycatcher (too rare, IDed by ear) or the Purple Finch (supposedly gone, but all 6 of us IDed them at EL).
CHECKLIST:
Here is what the boys identified:
1. Canada Goose
2. Wood Duck
3. Mallard
4. Northern Bobwhite
5. American Bittern
6. Great Blue Heron
7. Black Vulture
8. Turkey Vulture
9. Red-shouldered Hawk
10. Red-tailed Hawk
11. American Kestrel
12. Killdeer
13. Spotted Sandpiper
14. Rock Pigeon
15. Mourning Dove
16. Yellow-billed Cuckoo
17. Barred Owl
18. Common Nighthawk
19. Chuck-will’s-widow
20. Whip-poor-will
21. Chimney Swift
22. Belted Kingfisher
23. Red-bellied Woodpecker
24. Downy Woodpecker
25. Eastern Wood-pewee
26. Great-crested Flycatcher
27. Eastern Kingbird
28. White-eyed Vireo
29. Blue-headed Vireo
30. Blue Jay
31. American Crow
32. Fish Crow
33. Purple Martin
34. Tree Swallow
35. N. Rough-winged Swallow
36. Bank Swallow
37. Barn Swallow
38. Carolina Chickadee
39. Tufted Titmouse
40. White-breasted Nuthatch
41. Brown-headed Nuthatch
42. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
43. Eastern Bluebird
44. Wood Thrush
45. American Robin
46. Northern Mockingbird
47. Brown Thrasher
48. European Starling
49. Golden-winged Warbler
50. Tennessee Warbler
51. Northern Parula
52. Cape May Warbler
53. Black-throated Blue Warbler
54. Yellow-throated Warbler
55. Pine Warbler
56. Prairie Warbler
57. Black and White Warbler
58. American Redstart
59. Prothonotary Warbler
60. Worm-eating Warbler
61. Ovenbird
62. Louisiana Waterthrush
63. Kentucky Warbler
64. Common Yellowthroat
65. Hooded Warbler
66. Yellow-breasted Chat
67. Scarlet Tanager
68. Eastern Towhee
69. Chipping Sparrow
70. Field Sparrow
71. Grasshopper Sparrow
72. Northern Cardinal
73. Indigo Bunting
74. Bobolink
75. Red-winged Blackbird
76. Eastern Meadowlark
77. Common Grackle
78. House Finch
79. House Sparrow
80. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
81. Yellow Warbler
82. Black-throated Green Warbler
I joined GABO today and posted these results, as well as some of our training ideas, which I also posted on my regular blog.
To keep the boys motivated, we offered plush birds as rewards: 35 on Friday night yielded the first, 25 more on Saturday the next, the 3rd for good attitudes/behavior was received after the banquet.
The boys were thrilled to sweep their age group in the banquet. They beat all in their age group (and the competition, from what we understand) for fundraising, raising $512.22 for American Bird Conservancy. That earned them each a spotting scope, a 15 x 45 x 60 Lightwave Audubon spotting scope with tabletop tripod. That was an answer to prayer, as we have hoped and prayed for a spotting scope since birding with Mr. Miliotis this winter. For highest # in their age group they won new binoculars, 7 x 35 Eagle Optics Triumph. For most improved since last year they won new field guides, which they didn’t have, so that was also great. Everyone got (for participating) an annotated Birds of Georgia by Giff Beaton, who also handed out the awards. We got a picture with him and got him to sign the annotated guides as well as our copy of Birding Georgia. We learned that Giff is the record holder for most birds seen in one day in Georgia and most birds seen in one day in the U.S. (in Texas).
I cannot say how blessed we were. The Lord was so good and answered many prayers, not least of which, to me, were the spotting scopes. We prayed for one, for ourselves, and got 4 total for our team. He is so good, above and beyond our wildest dreams. The boys hoped to get 60 birds to better their total from last year. How they will get more than 82 next year is a mystery, but we are already talking strategy!!
