Welcome to the final tally diary of the 2012 Daily Kos Backyard Science Yardbird Race!. Post your final tallies here! You have until the stroke of midnight (your time) to watch for new birds. Late reports can be entered on the tally until tomorrow morning.
I'll be back around noon to fill in the reports from the last tally. Until then, be polite to one another and carry on!!
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It's still not too late to join the race. Here's what you need to know:
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 yard. More details and the fine print can be found beyond the orange bird poop below.
New racers are welcome! Go back to your photos and your notes and let us know what you've seen in your backyard since January 1. Everyone else, you know what to do. The final tally will be on January 1, 2013, with Bragging Rights to follow.
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.
As always, details about the Yardbird Race and a bit of fine print can be found below the orange bird poop.
Details and the fine print.
You can list a bird if you see or hear it while you are somewhere in your yard. A "yard" includes your living quarters. So, you can list the Killdeer that wakes you at 2am, but you can't list the Herring Gull 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 visually ID a bird that you have 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 "parrot". Pet birds, other captive birds and birds kept for hunting don't count.
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...)
You're on the honor system here, though I suspect we'll figure it out if you list Mangrove Cuckoos and Fulvous Whistling Ducks while claiming to live above the 40th parallel.
Everyone is welcome! We'll even help you with ID's.