The 23rd Annual Great Texas Birding Classic officially wrapped up the year with
the simultaneous Awards Ceremonies in Houston and San Antonio last Saturday
afternoon, June 1.
Since many of you participated (or have participated in the past), I wanted to
share this year's highlights from the event as well as the final results.
Through registration fees and team sponsorship we raised enough money to donate
$39,000 to habitat conservation projects in Texas, bringing the 23-year total
to $993,000 in on-the-ground habitat conservation projects funded to date.
Winning teams from several categories won the privilege of selecting which
approved conservation projects will be funded (project proposal booklets will
be sent out this week, so once those selections are complete, we'll send out
the final press release).
Until then, here are the participation-related highlights from the 2019
statewide, monthlong event:
- Record participation numbers: 136 teams made up of 850 participants
participated throughout the state!
- Record numbers of teams in two categories: 51 Big Sit! teams and 18 Sunrise
to Noon teams, our two most laid back tournament categories, showing that this
event is great for avid and beginning birders alike!
- 19 youth teams participated - there was great representation from our younger
birders and so many fantastic chaperones, parents, and mentors that made their
birding days possible. Thanks to all!!
- 12 State Park Tournament teams covering parks from Far West Texas to the
Pineywoods and down to the Valley!
- 6 teams doing statewide tournaments - either the Statewide Big Day or the
Statewide Weeklong (6-days of birding)!
On the birding front, we had a pretty great year as well:
- 411 birds identified by all teams combined - one of the top 5 totals in the
23 year history of the event!
- Combined, teams saw:
---40 species of warblers
---26 species of shorebirds plus another 16 species of gulls and terns
---26 species of waterfowl
---25 species of flycatchers
---21 species of raptors
Teams set records for the highest species count in three different tournament
categories this year: Adult Regional Big Day-Prairies and Pineywoods West, Big
Sit-Upper Texas Coast, and Big Sit-Prairies and Pineywoods West!
While there were some notable misses this year with Eastern Whip-poor-will,
Golden-crowned Kinglets, and Purple Finches, as you can see above teams in
general really had some fantastic finds this year! One team even found a
Short-eared Owl!
Despite some heavy rains during the final half of the tournament, it looks like
many of you had a great run this year, setting the bar high for future years.
Mark your calendars now for the April 1, 2020 registration deadline for the
24th Annual Birding Classic. It's going to be a fun one!
Please find final team standings online:
https://tpwd.texas.gov/events/great-texas-birding-classic/winnersreports/2019-birding-classic-final-results_formatted.pdf
To see photos from this year's event as well as the slideshow from Saturday's
Awards Ceremonies, visit our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/birdingclassic/
Thanks for all of your support and participation!
Shelly
______________________
Shelly Plante
Nature Tourism Manager
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department-HQ
4200 Smith School Road, Austin, TX 78744
Office: 512-389-4500
Cell: 512-241-9163
