Welcome to the 2013 Daily Kos Backyard Science Yardbird Race! This is the 10th tally for 2013 and is the official place to post your sightings, ask for help, and crow some if you wish.
Here's what the race is all about:
The Daily Kos Backyard Science Yardbird Race is a birding competition where, over the course of one year, participants strive to identify the most bird species - by sight and/or by sound - from the confines of their yards.
Remember, anytime is a good time to join in, even if you're just a beginning birder. There may be some friendly bluster, but if you ask for ID help you'll get it, especially if you write up a good description or post a photo. There are a bunch of categories, so people who live in urban centers dion't have to compete against others who have a lot of open space or waterfront views.
The Categories:
~Urban apartment or condo
~Urban attached (townhouse, rowhouse)
~Urban detached
~Suburban
~Rural <5 acres
~Rural >5 acres
~Waterfront (trumps any of the above...)
~Classroom Project
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We always suggest that you look under the squiggly orange bird poop way below to find the details and the fine print (always the fine print.)
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A Backyard Bird Race welcome to Mark Sumner, who joined up during the last tally back on September 8. 19 others reported in last time, too.
Here's what the race looked like at the end of the last tally (September 8). Please let me know if anything needs correcting. (Note that last year's racers' 2012 counts are in parentheses after their names. They're competing against themselves this year, too.) There are still more new racers than veterans this year. This is a very good thing.
Before we start, I'd like to introduce a new and exclusive Backyard Bird Race Group - The ZERO Club - which is only open to participants who have seen no new birds in their yards for at least one tally. Current ZERO Club members will find an official notification near their name in this tally. Please congratulate one another. May your membership be fleeting.
SUBURBAN
1. chantedor ... Paradise, CA ... 45 (ZERO Club, 1 tally)
2. enhydra lutris (40) ... Castro Valley NOCA ... 41
3. AZ Sphinxmoth ... Baja, AZ ... 36
4 (tie). lorell ... Sugarland TX ... 35 (ZERO Club, 2 tallies)
5. temmoku ... Chicago, IL ... 23
6. 6412093 ... NW Oregon ... 18
Chantedor continues to lead in the SUBURBAN category, even as the first noted member of the ZERO Club. enhydra lutris actually dropped one species last time, but is still in a reasonably close second place. AZ Sphinxmoth and lorell were tied last time, but AZ Sphinxmoth was able to add one bird and has snuck into the lead, leaving lorell in 4th place, but with a 2 tally membership in the exclusive ZERO Club. Temmoku and 6412093 may not catch up to the leaders this year, but there's still room for competition between them.
Congratulations are in order to enhydra lutris, who beat his 2012 total this tally!
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URBAN DETACHED
1. bwren (50)... Seattle WA ... 39 (ZERO Club, 2 tallies)
2. billybush ... Omaha NE ... 34 (ZERO Club, 1 tally)
3. gulfga98 ... Brevard, NC ... 31
4. duckhunter ... St Louis MO ... 29
5. mikidee ... St. Paul, Minnesota ... 28 (ZERO Club, 1 tally)
6. Dr. Erich Bloodaxe RN ... Middleton, OH ... 16 (ZERO Club, 1 tally)
Static might be the only way to describe the current affairs in the URBAN DETACHED category, with four out of six participants currently members of the ZERO Club. How exclusive is that? billybush and I are stuck where we've been, 5 species apart between first and second place. gulfga98 added one species last tally to lead the mid-pack, with duckhunter and mikidee just one species apart behind her. I'm thinking it's time for the rest of us to send Dr. Erich Bloodaxe RN some new birds.
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RURAL >5ACRES
1. burnt out (73)... middle MO ... 70 (ZERO Club, 1 tally)
2. janislav ... IA ... 46
3. MyInnerNameIsSpike ... upstate NY ... 37
Oh my.... The RURAL >5ACRES category seem to have gone static, too. burnt out has joined the ZERO Club, and neither janislav nor MyInnerNameIsSpike checked in last tally. Here's hoping that the fall migration has brought all of them new birds!
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APARTMENT OR CONDO
1. Benny Toothpick ... Carrboro, NC ... 26
2. aaroninsandiego ... San Diego CA ... 18 (ZERO Club, 2 tallies)
3. DarkHawk98 ... ? ... 19
4. LilithGardener ... NY NY ... 10
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Benny Toothpick added three new species to his list last, raising his his lead by 6 in the APARTMENT OR CONDO category. aaroninsandiego has been stuck in the ZERO Club for two tallies now, but who know what new birds have flown over his neighborhood during the fall migration. We'll continue to look forward to new reports from DarkHawk98 and LilithGardener.
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RURAL <5ACRES
1. most awesome nana ... NE PA ... 47
2. PHScott (32) ... west of Tallahassee FL ... 35
3. (tie) Mojave Jo ... Barstow, CA ... 24 (ZERO Club, 1 tally)
3. (tie) homeschoolingmom ... WV ... 24
Once again, most awesome nana has added three species to her leading tally in the RURAL <5ACRES category. PHScott continues to remain in second place even as he has completed his 2013 reports in this category, as well as beating his record for 2012. Huzza! We'll see more of him in WATERFRONT this time around. Mojave Jo and homeschoolingmom continue their tie for third. There could be some competition here this time!
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URBAN ATTACHED
1. lineatus ... San Francisco CA ... 43
lineatus added one new species to her tally last month, and looks to be the only surviving member of the URBAN ATTACHED racers. We'll see how her list grows this time around.
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WATERFRONT
1. Polly Syllabic (100) ... Gooseville WI ... 101
2. Dr. Arcadia ... thumb of MI ... 76
3. matching mole (78) ... Tallahassee FL ... 73
4. Milly Watt (67) ... Olympic Peninsula WA ... 70
5. (tie) OceanDiver ... Lopez IS WA ... 65
5. (tie) political mutt ... Sandhills NC ... 65
6. Mark Sumner ... Hillsboro, MO ... 56
7. john difool ... Jacksonville, FL ... 36
8. PHScott ...Lake Onterio, NY ... 22
Wonder of wonders, there are no members of the ZERO Club in the WATERFRONT category! A few racers haven't checked in for a while and we've added a couple new participants. Still, the numbers haven't changed much, though Polly Syllabic has already outdone her 2012 tally by 1 species. Nice going, Polly. Dr. Arcadia continues to hold on to second place and is still being challenged by matching mole. Milly Watt is another racer who has outdone her 2012 tally. Congratulations, Milly!
There's a tie going on for fifth here: OceanDiver added five species last time to match political mutt's last report of 65 from May. Perhaps we can noodge political mutt to send in an updated report? Welcome to Mark Sumner - 56 isn't half bad for a first tally! PHScott added five new species for a total of 22 in this category after switching categories mid season.
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Tally Updates
Be kind to your record keeper. For ease of keeping track of everyone's lists, please post your tallies in the following manner.
Your location, as close as you are comfortable revealing.
Your yard category.
Number of species seen so far, including your other tallies if you have any.
List of birds seen, dated if you wish.
Any comments you have about your sightings.
The 10th tally of the 2013 Backyard Science Yardbird Race is now open. Participants, go for it!
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I'll be in and out all day, but definitely not before 8:00am PDT.
Details and the fine print.
You'll be listing the number of bird species that you find from the confines of your yard between January 1 and December 31, 2013. You can list a bird if you see or hear it while you are somewhere in your yard. If you live in an apartment or condo building your "yard" includes the property on which the building is located. Note that a "yard" includes your living quarters. So, you can list the owl that wakes you at 2am, but you can't list the Flamingo you see in your neighbor's side yard while driving home if you cannot see it from any place in your yard after you get out of your car. You can, however, walk around to your neighbor's side yard to ID a bird that you have initially seen or heard from the confines of your own yard.
You may list domestic chickens, but only as the generic "domestic chicken". Feral parrots and budgies may also be listed, but only as the generic "feral parrot". Pet birds, other captive birds and birds kept for hunting don't count, but wandering peafowl are fair game.
There are no rules about ladders and fences. With the exception of utilizing recorded bird calls, which is strongly discouraged, there are also no rules about making your yard more bird-attractive than the competition's.
Here are the yard categories:
~Urban apartment or condo
~Urban attached (townhouse, rowhouse)
~Urban detached
~Suburban
~Rural <5 acres
~Rural >5 acres
~Waterfront (trumps any of the above...)
~Classroom Project
You're on the honor system here. May I come visit if you've seen Asio flammeus sandwichensis recently?