Yesterday, a group of friends headed down to Panoche Valley for a day of birding. It's been an annual pilgrimage for me for about 15 years now, and I've written about here - although the diaries have been more about how few birds there were (in those drought years) compared to how it used to be. Well, Panoche is back. A little bit of water makes all the difference. It was a wonderful day, the birds were there and they were even acting like they're supposed to.
I wish there was a way to share the good feeling that comes from a day like that.
Well, there's writing about it, of course. And I'll be doing that next week (got home too late to do it this week). But it got me thinking this past week, and it gave me an idea for our birding trip on the 29th. Join me over the jump...
Looking forward to seeing these guys with the group...
Okay, you know that we've planned this awesome field trip for Bay Area Kossack birders. I'm thinking it would be even more of a community event if we can use our day of fun to do some good.
Who's up for a bird-a-thon?
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.
[Edited for clarity] 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). So 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.
Update - pledges so far:
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.)
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 we see, even the ones who don't count.
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.
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.
Oh, and bay area birders - as if this isn't enough do-gooding for one day, I'm passing on this announcement:
WildRescue is Wildlife Search & Rescue training in the greater Bay Area. This training is for anyone interested in learning what to do when they happen across an injured wild animal (often birds) or for anyone who wishes to volunteer with them by being on-call to rescue wildlife.
Here is the link to their training classes: http://www.wildrescue.org/...