snell@utzoo.UUCP (snell) (12/14/87)
Hmmm, time for a new topic...
What would be your choice for a BIG DAY (BIG SIT) location?
That is, where would you go to tick a maximum number of species
in 24 hours (no restrictions on where, but do include a North American
site as well, if your first choice is elsewhere...).
(Note, this is not the same as `what exotic place would you like to bird
in for a day to get a fat list of mega-ticks.)
*** Here is the wrinkle: you would have to stay in one place. A single
*** spot, approximately 2 metres X 2 metres.
1. Pick the place.
2. Pick the date (and hope for favourable weather).
3. You could have a blind or not, as you choose.
4. Assume a maximum party size of 3, all of whom must remain
within the 2m X 2m plot.
5. The spot may be on the ground, or above it (such as in a
look-out platform). However, it must be stationary (e.g., sitting
the bed of a pickup truck being driven about does not count).
Send choices to me via email, and I will post a summary...
__
Name: Richard Snell
Mail: Dept. Zoology, Univ. Toronto
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A1
UUCP: {allegra,decvax,ihnp4,linus,pyramid,yetti,utai}!utzoo!snell
BITNET: utzoo!snell@utoronto.bitnetrising@zoo.toronto.edu (Jim Rising) (08/30/90)
What is the record big day north of Mexico? My own best is 159 at Pt. Pelee in mid-May, but I know that the day that I got that others who knew the area and had certain species staked out (and are better than I) got up to 25 more. -- Name: Jim Rising Mail: Dept. Zoology, Univ. Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A1 UUCP: uunet!attcan!utzoo!rising BITNET: rising@zoo.utoronto.ca
dmark@acsu.buffalo.edu (David Mark) (08/31/90)
In article <1990Aug30.140149.28028@zoo.toronto.edu> rising@zoo.toronto.edu (Jim Rising) writes: >What is the record big day north of Mexico? My own best is >159 at Pt. Pelee in mid-May, but I know that the day that I >got that others who knew the area and had certain species staked >out (and are better than I) got up to 25 more. The most species of birds ever seen in one day (24 hours) in the United States or Canada is: 244 species, May 1 1985, in Texas, by V. Emanuel, R.T. Peterson, J. Tucker, and G. Lasley. They used an airplane to fly from the Lower Rio Grande Valley to the Upper Texas Coast. Since some people think that airplane Big Days really shouldn't count, the ABA lists "Aircraft Big Days" separately. Therefore, the recognized "official" ABA record is: 231 species, April 29 1978, in southern California, by J. Dunn, K. Garrett, V. Remsen, and R. Webster. The Canadian record is: 205 species, May 23 1987, in southeastern Manitoba, by G. Grieef, R. Koes, R. Tkachuk, and G. Holland. (Interestingly, this is the North-of-Mexico North American all-inland "Big Day" record, beating the best ever in Arizona or Minnesota. The only US States with Big Days greater than Manitoba's are California and Texas [see above] plus Oregon [212] and Virginia [212].) The Ontario record is: 186 species, May 11 1979, Point Pelee area, by A. Wormington, T. Hince, D. Sutherland, and M. Runtz. I think that Tom Hince broke 190 on the day of my "lifer" Mississippi Kite, at Pelee, 20 May 1984, but the A.B.A. does not recognize single-person "Big Days" as official records. My "personal best" was 166 in April 1982 on the Upper Texas Coast, in a group that totalled 170. In Canada, I have never come close to 150. [Source of all except the Hince day and my own: "Winging It" [ABA Newsletter], v. 2, No. 7, July 1990, pp. 16-17.] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= David Mark dmark@acsu.buffalo.edu =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
grp@unify.uucp (Greg Pasquariello) (08/31/90)
In article <1990Aug30.140149.28028@zoo.toronto.edu> rising@zoo.toronto.edu (Jim Rising) writes: > > What is the record big day north of Mexico? My own best is > 159 at Pt. Pelee in mid-May, but I know that the day that I > got that others who knew the area and had certain species staked > out (and are better than I) got up to 25 more. > -- > Name: Jim Rising > I'm not sure if it's a record or not, but the Guerilla Birding Team, in the NJ World Series of birding, got 206 in early May. That's alot, even if it's not a record. -- -Greg Pasquariello grp@unify.com