Big thanks to everyone who participated in the 2013 Daily Kos Backyard Science Yardbird Race, even for a little while. The race doubled in size last year, with 42 participants submitting at least one tally list, and 21 of those finishing. Once again, there were common birds and rare ones, a bit of friendly joshing back and forth, and a good deal of encouragement and support. Personal records were broken, new records were made, and I hope that a fine time was had by all.
So without further ado, here are the final results of the 2013 Backyard Science Yardbird Race.
This will be bare bones, I'm afraid. Casa Bwren has been hosting a couple of viruses over the last week, and I lost almost a whole draft last night with an errant slip of the wrist during a coughing spell. Reminder to self: save your work as you go.
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Once again, Polly Syllabic has taken the Grand Bragging Rights Award, breaking her 2012 record by two for a total of 102 species. Congratulations Polly! We'll all be over for a weekend birding campout at your place this year!
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And on to the categories -
There were two single participant categories this year, URBAN ATTACHED and RURAL >5 ACRES.
URBAN ATTACHED
1. lineatus ... San Francisco CA ... 44
RURAL >5 ACRES
1. burnt out (73)... middle MO ... 75
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Now to the more competitive categories:
APARTMENT OR CONDO
1. Benny Toothpick ... Carrboro, NC ... 27
2. aaroninsandiego ... San Diego CA ... 21
3. DarkHawk98 ... Roseville CA ... 19
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RURAL <5 ACRES
1. most awesome nana ... NE PA ... 48
2. PHScott (32) ... west of Tallahassee FL ... 38
3. (tie) Mojave Jo ... Barstow, CA ... 24
3. (tie) homeschoolingmom ... WV ... 24
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SUBURBAN
1. enhydra lutris (40) ... Castro Valley NOCA ... 47
2. chantedor ... Paradise, CA ... 46
3. AZ Sphinxmoth ... Baja, AZ ... 43
4. lorell ... Sugarland TX ... 36
5. temmoku ... Chicago, IL ... 23
6. DarkHawk98 ... Roseville CA ... 22
7. 6412093 ... NW Oregon ... 20
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WATERFRONT
1. Polly Syllabic (100) ... Gooseville WI ... 102
2. matching mole (78) ... Tallahassee FL ... 79
3. Dr. Arcadia ... thumb of MI ... 78
4. Milly Watt (67) ... Olympic Peninsula WA ... 75
5. OceanDiver ... Lopez IS WA ... 71
6. Mark Sumner ... Hillsboro, MO ... 69
7. political mutt ... Sandhills NC ... 65
8. PHScott ...Lake Onterio, NY ... 22
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Oops, forgot URBAN DETACHED - here it is:
URBAN DETACHED
1. bwren (50)... Seattle WA ... 41
2. billybush ... Omaha NE ... 35
3. gulfgal98 ... Brevard, NC ... 31
4. duckhunter ... St Louis MO ... 29
5. mikidee ... St. Paul, Minnesota ... 28
6. Dr. Erich Bloodaxe RN ... Middleton, OH ... 16
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Congratulations everyone! And now, below the mess of orange bird poop, the beginning of the 2014 BYS Yardbird Race!
Welcome to the first tally diary of the 2014 Daily Kos Backyard Science Yardbird Race!! This is the official place to post your sightings, ask for help, and OK, brag a bit if you need to! Note that returning participants will be racing against themselves, too. We'll put their previous records in parentheses after their names.
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.
There are a bunch of categories, so people who live in urban centers don'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/Small Town
~Rural <5 acres
~Rural >5 acres
~Waterfront (trumps any of the above...)
~Classroom Project
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, 2014. 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 killdeer that wakes you at 2am, but you can't list the Auk 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.
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.
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.
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Ready everyone?
The 2014 Daily Kos Yardird Race is now open.
GO! And may all of 2014's birds be good ones!
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I'll be in and out all afternoon.