[TN-Bird] Re: John Vanderpoel's Big Year & Top TN Big Years
- From: Michael Todd <birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, kbreault@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 20:54:47 -0800 (PST)
Kevin,
The effort you put into tracking these listing statistics always amazes me.
Obviously it is a labor of love!
An all-out ABA Big Year is beyond the means of most of us, but is definitely a
lot of fun to think and read about! Even an all-out TN Big Year is a serious
undertaking. Seeing the TN year lists laid out like that makes it pretty
obvious who spends the time in the field! To have the combination of knowing
when and where to look for just about every expected TN species, skill to pick
out the unexpected, and sheer amount of time in the field STUDYING birds, Jeff
is pretty much the tour de force of TN listing (and his location doesn't hurt
any!). It is a rare year when someone comes close to Jeff's annual total, which
is usually his WEST TN total. Scott had a great run this year. Someone could
conceivably up Jeff's record year list, but I doubt his overall TN list is ever
surpassed.
Thanks again for keeping up and sharing these various listing totals with the
rest of us! Always interesting reading.
Mike Todd
McKenzie, TN
birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.pbase.com/mctodd
--- On Sun, 1/1/12, kbreault <kbreault@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: kbreault <kbreault@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [TN-Bird] John Vanderpoel's Big Year & Top TN Big Years
To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: kbreault@xxxxxxxx
Date: Sunday, January 1, 2012, 11:13 AM
TN Birders:
Not having done a Big Year myself, I can only imagine that December must be a
very exciting and yet frustrating month for those in the hunt. And so it was
for John Vanderpoel who ended up with 743 birds (744 with our crane), putting
him into second place behind Sandy Komito on the all-time ABA Area Big Years
list. TN birders may be interested in the rare birds identified by John. Here
are his ABA Code 4 & 5 birds culled from his website with the months and
states/provinces in which he saw them:
Code 5
Black-vented Oriole, Jan., TX
Gray-hooded Gull, Aug., NY
Pallas's Bunting, Sept., AK
Willow Warbler, Sept., AK
White-chinned Petrel, Oct., CA
Graylag Goose, Dec., QC
Hooded Crane, Dec., TN, presumably
Nutting's Flycatcher, Dec., AZ
Code 4
White-throated Thrush, Jan., TX
Crimson-collared Grosbeak, Jan., TX
Blue Bunting, Jan., TX
Brown Shrike, Feb., CA
Black-tailed Gull, Mar., NF
Yellow-legged Gull, Mar., NF
Yellow-faced Grassquit, Mar., TX
Garganey, May, OH
Great Knot, May, AK
Little Egret, June, ME
Plain-capped Starthroat, July, AZ
Little Stint, July, CA
Aztec Thrush, Aug., AZ
Thick-billed Vireo, Aug., FL
Stonechat, Sept., AK
Dusky Warbler, Sept., AK
Siberian Accentor, Sept., AK
Eurasian Bullfinch, Oct., OK
Oriental Turtle-Dove, Oct., AK
Pink-footed Goose, Nov., NS
Barnacle Goose, Nov., MA
Golden-crowned Warbler, Dec., TX
Falcated Duck, Dec., CA
In looking over John's year I would add two or three suggestions for those
interested in beating Sandy and John's 740+ results. Note that these ideas
assume unlimited funds, which may help to suggest that financial resources are
becoming an even greater limiting factor--unfortunately, birders such as Greg
Miller with limited money and a full-time job may no longer be able to compete
at the highest level in this game (even in 1998, Sandy got 30 more birds than
Greg). My suggestions: 1. chase any rare bird as soon as it has been confirmed
(waiting can lead to failure), 2. locate your Big Year residence to a place or
places that are likely to have rare birds, e.g., south Texas (spending time
flying back to your home if it is not in a place like south Texas adds too much
time away from the best birding), and 3. have a spouse okay with that! (It
seems the number of reasons while I will never have a Big Year are only
increasing!)
With the interest in Big Years at the national level several people have asked
me about Big Years in Tennessee. The following are the top 36 TN Bird Years
from 1988 through 2010. The 2011 results will be available probably in July or
August, but I have added a few 2011 lists I am aware of at this time: Jeff
Wilson, 6th on the all-time list with at least 290, Scott Somershoe, 9th at
288, and Terry Witt, 36th with 264 (of course, not including the provisional
crane and, in the case of Scott and Terry, a swan of some mystery, either a
Trumpeter or Tundra). Note that Scott ended up with 300 on his life list for
TN. Note also that the list below is incomplete as I do not have data prior to
1988, and others including longtime residents of Tennessee may have earlier
lists of note that should be folded into the following. Any additions, errors,
and all of the results for 2011, will be included in my annual "Tennessee
Birders by the Numbers,"
available probably in August.
Tennessee Big Years, 1988-2010
1. Jeff Wilson (307-2002)
3.-t Jeff Wilson (298-1994)
3.-t Jeff Wilson (298-2005)
4. Rebecca Satterfield (296-1993)
6.-t Jeff Wilson (290-2011)*
6.-t Jeff Wilson (290-1990)
8.-t Michael Todd (289-2002)
8.-t Jeff Wilson (289-1996)
9. Scott Somershoe (288-2011)*
11.-t Jeff Wilson (286-1989)
11.-t Jeff Wilson (286-2003)
13.-t Jeff Wilson (284-2000)
13.-t Jeff Wilson (284-2001)
14. Jeff Wilson (283-2004)
15. Gail & Steve Clendenen (281-2006)
18.-t Damien Simbeck (278-1988)
18.-t Jeff Wilson (278-2007)
18.-t Jeff Wilson (278-2009)
20.-t Jeff Wilson (275-2008)
20.-t Jeff Wilson (275-2010)
21. Michael Todd (273-2009)
22. Jeff Wilson (272-1999)
23. Mark Greene (271-2006)
24. Jeff Wilson (270-1988)
25. Jeff Wilson (269-1992)
27.-t Michael Todd (268-2005)
27.-t Jeff Wilson (268-2006)
28. Bonnie Johnson (267-2001)
29. Jeff Wilson (266-1998)
33.-t Mark Greene (265-2000)
33.-t Dollyann Myers (265-1989)
33.-t Judy Newsome (265-2001)
33.-t Michael Todd (265-2008)
36.-t Mark Greene (264-1996)
36.-t Bonnie Johnson (264-2000)
36.-t Terry Witt (264-2011)*
*tentative 2011 lists
It would seem that Jeff is our Komito/Vanderpoel!
Some of you may know that I have been the ABAs leader in Total Ticks in the
last five or six years, so you may be wondering if 2011 was a notable year for
me in the Total Ticks game. I am sorry to report that because of a visit to the
OR (and I don't mean Oregon), and six months of rehabilitation, 2011 was my
lowest Total Ticks year since 2003, with 269 birds (not including the crane
that I finally had an opportunity to see on Friday). With regard to the issue
of financial resources let me put another plug in for Total Ticks. It is only
an estimate, as I have never kept records, but I think I have spent in the
vicinity of $150K in the sport, including optics and books, which certainly
sounds like a lot, but is only $3,750 per year when divided by 40 years. I have
been told that Sandy spent more than 200K in his great year, and John's 2011
amount may well have been higher.
Finally, the end of the year means that members can send in their results to
the ABA. Every year some people forget (I've done that myself). Also for a
quicker turnaround time, some birders are beginning to use surfbirds.com, and
I've noticed more interest in their recently added category of regional Total
Ticks, something many of our TN birders excel in without otherwise having an
outlet for their results.
From me and my family, I wish you and yours a wonderful year for 2012, big or
small! And, I just heard, the year might start off with a bang if the Asian
Rosy-Finch, a first for North America, stays put in Adak.
Kevin Breault
Brentwood, TN
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