[wisb] New Big Day Record in US

From: "Cutright.Noel" <Noel.Cutright@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Wisbirdn" <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:51:25 -0500
As migration finally starts to pick up, thought you might like to read
about this achievement.  Please support Birdathons/Bandathons in your
neighborhood, all of which help raise funds for bird conservation.  Noel
Cutright, Ozaukee County

As members of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Team Sapsucker, we'd like
to thank everyone for the amazing show of support during our Big Day
efforts to raise funds for bird conservation. Our total for the day was
264 bird species, 3 higher than the previous U.S. record for most birds
seen on a Big Day! Thanks to the generosity of friends and members of
the Cornell Lab, we raised nearly $200,000 for bird conservation
programs.  
Our Big Day quest began on Friday with a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron and
Barred Owl spotted in the glow of park lights near San Antonio's famous
Riverwalk, followed by a calling Common Pauraque, a tropical relative of
the Whip-poor-will. In the first frantic moments of daylight in Uvalde
we noted both a Blue Jay and Green Jay as well as the slow melodious
song of an Audubon's Oriole. From there we went to the Hill Country near
Neal's Lodges where Golden-cheeked Warblers and Hutton's Vireos sang
from the hillside, a Scott's Oriole flew overhead, and a Spotted Towhee
scratched on the ground. Heading back through San Antonio after the
morning rush-hour we scored a Monk Parakeet at a nest along the
Interstate.
In the afternoon, a promising kettle of raptors turned up a
Swallow-tailed Kite soaring far above Swainson's Hawks and Mississippi
Kites, and a huge migrating flock of some 400 American White Pelicans.
The woodpeckers in Victoria were wonderful - Downy, Red-bellied, and a
nesting Pileated. The rice fields produced Glossy Ibis, American
Golden-Plover, and Buff-breasted Sandpiper. Sunset near Corpus Christi
brought only a handful of migrant warblers, but enough to pull us near
the record. As the sun set, Northern Bobwhite called while Clapper Rail
grunted from the marshes. In darkness, the calls of Virginia and Black
Rails signaled our final birds to end the day at the new high-water mark
of 264.
It was a memorable 24 hours, not only for the spectacular diversity of
birds we experienced in such a short amount of time, but for the
inspiring support of all who contributed to advance bird conservation.
Next up: best wishes to our student team, the Redheads (named for the
Cornell "Big Red"). They will compete in New Jersey's World Series of
Birding on May 14 to raise funds for undergraduate research!
Sincerely,
Chris Wood (captain), Jessie Barry, Andrew Farnsworth, Marshall Iliff,
Tim Lenz, Brian Sullivan 

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[wisb] New Big Day Record in US

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