Welcome to the 2013 Daily Kos Backyard Science Yardbird Race! This is our 9th tally diary of the year, and is the official place to post your sightings, ask for help, and/or 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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Welcome to mikidee, who jumped into the race last time. There was a nice turnout of participants who sent in July tallies, 22 in all.
No, you didn't miss a tally in August - backyard birding here in Seattle was so slow in July that I just forgot to write one up. However, we started seeing fewer summer birds during August, signaling the beginning of the fall migration. You all south of the 45th parallel, let us know if you've seen any of our Rufous Hummingbirds or our Violet-green Swallow passing through in the last few weeks!
Here's what the race looked like at the end of the last tally (July 7). Big thanks to Milly for tackling the June tally numbers, the writing and the record keeping last time! (And for noticing that I've been spelling (counting?) 6412093's userID incorrectly. It should be fixed now. If not, let me know.) Let me know if anything else needs correcting, too.
(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.
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SUBURBAN
1. chantedor ... Paradise, CA ... 45
2. enhydra lutris (40) ... Castro Valley NOCA ... 42
3 (tie). AZ Sphinxmoth ... Baja, AZ ... 35
3 (tie). lorell ... Sugarland TX ... 35
4. temmoku ... Chicago, IL ... 23
4. 6412093 ... NW Oregon ... 17
Chantedor has taken the lead in the SUBURBAN category, but only by three, and this without a June count from second placeholder, enhydra lutris. Add in a tie for third between AZ Sphinxmoth and lorell and things look very interesting going into this tally. Temmoku and 6412093 definitely have time to catch up!
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URBAN DETACHED
1. bwren (50)... Seattle WA ... 39
2. billybush ... Omaha NE ... 34
3. gulfga98 ... Brevard, NC ... 30
4. duckhunter ... St Louis MO ... 29
5. mikidee ... St. Paul, Minnesota ... 28
6. Dr. Erich Bloodaxe RN ... Middleton, OH ... 16
Take a look at how close URBAN DETACHED is getting! billybush and I continue our duel for first place, while gulfga98, duckhunter and mikidee are strung out one species apart from each other right behind us. Dr. Erich Bloodaxe RN is tagging now, but the fall migration may well help him out.
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RURAL >5ACRES
1. burnt out (73)... middle MO ... 70
2. janislav ... IA ... 46
3. MyInnerNameIsSpike ... upstate NY ... 37
burnt out continues to lead in the RURAL >5ACRES category, and is only three species down from his final count last season. While janislav and MyInnerNameIsSpike, have strong totals, neither checked in last month. We'll be hoping for a report this time.
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APARTMENT OR CONDO
1. Benny Toothpick ... Carrboro, NC ... 23
2. aaroninsandiego ... San Diego CA ... 18
3. DarkHawk98 ... ? ... 19
4. LilithGardener ... NY NY ... 10
Ah, things in the APARTMENT OR CONDO category seem to be at a standstill. Benny Toothpick remains in the lead without even checking in last month and aaroninsandiego is still in second place even without seeing any new birds since May. DarkHawk98 and LilithGardener haven't reported in recently, but we hope they'll jump in again this time.
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RURAL <5ACRES
1. most awesome nana ... NE PA ... 44
2. PHScott (32) ... west of Tallahassee FL ... 35
3 (tie). Mojave Jo ... Barstow, CA ... 24
3. (tie) homeschoolingmom ... WV ... 24
4. Robert Helmuth ... OK ... 14
most awesome nana added three species in July to continue her lead in the RURAL <5ACRES category. PHScott remains in second place here for now, but will be reporting from a new location for the rest of the year. (Please correct me if I'm confused here, PH.) Mojave Jo pulled into a third place tie with homeschoolingmom last time, so we'll be anxious to hear from the both of them. And here's a shout out to Robert Helmuth: Come back!!
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URBAN ATTACHED
1. lineatus ... San Francisco CA ... 42
2. Kay Observer2 ... Washington DC ... 23
Summertimebird backyard birding held steady in URBAN ATTACHED too last tally. lineatus noted that she's not seen any new birds since June, and Kay Observer2 hasn't checked in since April. May autumn bring renewed counts for our urban birders!
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WATERFRONT
1. Polly Syllabic (100) ... Gooseville WI ... 100
2. Dr. Arcadia ... thumb of MI ... 75
3. matching mole (78) ... Tallahassee FL ... 71
4. Milly Watt (67) ... Olympic Peninsula WA ... 66
5. political mutt ... Sandhills NC ... 65
7. OceanDiver ... Lopez IS WA ... 60
8. john difool ... Jacksonville, FL ... 36
9. PHScott ...Lake Onterio, NY ... 17
Now to WATERFRONT, where Polly Syllabic has both retained her commanding lead and has already matched her total count from last season! Relative newcomer Dr. Arcadia is holding in second place with a strong challenge from matching mole. Milly Watt and political mutt continue to duke it out for third, with Milly in by a one species nose this time. OceanDiver looks to be sleeper in this race. Watch out! john difool hasn't checked in for a while, but may still be competitive. We send kudos to PHScott for switching categories mid season. 17 isn't half bad for a month's tally.
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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 9th tally of the 2013 Backyard Science Yardbird Race is now open. Participants, start your tallies!
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I'll be in and out all day, but definitely not before 8:30am 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. Morus bassanus west of the Texas panhandle? We don't think so!