Today, a group of Bay Area Kossacks will be getting together to do some birding. Some of us have met before, but most of us will be will be matching faces with UIDs for the first time. We're headed for the Delta in hopes of seeing some wintering raptors, waterfowl and the ever-elegant Sandhill Cranes.
It's a nice opportunity to build and strengthen our community, and having fun while we do it. A few weeks ago, I thought it would be even better to use our day of fun to do something for another community, and suggested that we turn the day into a bird-a-thon to help buy heating fuel for residents of the Rosebud Reservation.
There's even a tie-in: several of the birds we most want to see wintering in the Delta spend their summers breeding in the areas around Rosebud. For all we know, some might actually breed on the reservation.
Wanna help the cause? Join me over the jump for more info...
Looking forward to seeing these guys with the group...
This isn't just for the Kossacks who are going - the most important thing is getting together as a group, and this is a side activity. It's for anyone at DKos who's be up for supporting this cause, and for anyone who'd like to take part vicariously.
For every species our group sees when we're on our Kossacks birding trip, you can pledge a certain amount to help buy fuel for the Rosebud Reservation. We will probably see anywhere between 60 - 80 species for the day (I think the highest we've ever had was 85, but today is going to start with some heavy fog, so I doubt we'll get that many). If you pledge, say, a quarter per species that we see, then you'll be contributing $15 or $20 to the cause. Should be manageable for most of us, and our combined effort could make a real difference.
If you want, you could do variations on the theme - maybe bonuses for a special birds, like $1 per Ferruginous hawk (usually anywhere between one and six per trip). Or pledges for number of species photographed (identifiably) - we have some good photographers coming, but it's not easy getting little tiny birds who are out in the middle of a field in the stubble. Maybe a bonus pledge for any birds that would be lifers for you (which also gives you some incentive to get out here and bird with us!)
It's your choice if you want to include exotics in the total.
In the original diary about this trip, we garnered the following pledges:
juliewolf - amount not specified
kestrel (participant) - amount not specified
tgypsy (participant) - .50/species
matching mole - .50/species, plus lifer bonus and more (details in the thread, but this has pictures!)
eeff - .25/species
jupiter surf - .025/species and $1/hawk
navajo (particpant) - match the highest donation
no way lack of brain - .50/species
SallyCat (participant) - .25/species
ebby (participant) - .25/species (and a plug for a mid week diary!)
enhydra lutris (participant) - .25/species, plus bonus for lifers
martyc35 - .25/species
the mom in the middle - .25/species, plus bonus to be determined
I'm in for a buck each, plus matching matching mole (and I'll probably come up with some on-the-spot bonuses while we're out there.)
New pledges added today!
BCO gal - .25/species
Julie Waters - .50/species
edie haskell - .25/species
leftcoast - $1/species (!!)
I'll look through comments here when I get home tonight to see who else has joined in.
Even though it would be great to run up to the total just on general principle - the point of birding is to see birds, after all - we'll go with the typical rule for these kind of events, which says that a bird has to be seen by at least two people to count for the official total. Obvious escapes or domestic birds won't count (sorry peacocks). However, I'll list every bird species we see, even the ones who don't "officially" count. If you want to include them in your pledge, you're more than welcome to do so.
One of the reasons that Rosebud came to mind was that many of the birds we really like to see in Solano in the winter, like Ferruginous Hawks, spend their summers in the area around the reservation. Another link, of course, is Navajo. She wrote the diary linked above, and she'll be with us on the trip. (update - sounds like she might be sick... bummer)
This looks chilly, but we get to come into warm homes at the end of the day. Let's help a few more people do the same.
A listing of all the birds we see will be posted in tomorrow's Dawn Chorus @ 6 am PST. Even if you can't afford to pledge, I hope you'll stop in to how things went.