 Fumble Of The Baillie Recently, in some spare moment, I looked up from my bird box making and bird box hanging, and realized that May was quickly drawing to a conclusion. If I was going to participate in the annual Baillie Birdathon, I had little time to lose. The Baillie Birdathon is a fund raising effort promoted by Bird Studies Canada. Participants gather pledges, choose a 24 hour period in May, then go out and count as many birds as they can within the 24 hours. My personal challenge is counting 100 species of birds during the allocated time, and for the past five years I rose to this self-imposed challenge. I like to go out and bird on a Sunday and as there was only one Sunday left in the month, it was obvious which day I would choose. In short order I corralled my usual cooperative supporters for pledges, signed up on-line for the birdathon and was ready to go. All I had to do was wait for the day. In past years I've taken to the birding fields for several days in advance just to test the birding waters. Each year is different, but given this years strange, slow crawl toward spring, I suspected there would be some glitches to overcome. For a 100 species day, I look upon the different groups of birds as teams. By scrutinizing each team's strength and shortcomings a few days in advance I can detect a lack of enthusiasm from various quarters and adjust my game strategy. For example, Team Sparrow is usually very strong at the end of May. Team Sparrow contains the three member Zono Force (Latin name Zonotrichia.) They are the White-crowned Sparrow, the Golden-crowned Sparrow, and the White-throated Sparrows. The presence of this group of Sparrows greatly augments a run to a hundred species day. And so it is with each group of birds. If every bird team shows strongly Ducks, Sparrows, Flycatchers, Warblers, Shorebirds, Raptors - there is a good chance of hitting the mark. However, this year, on the very day before Baillie Birdathon Sunday, a funny thing happened. I walked through Centennial Park in the early morning and saw a male Black-headed Grosbeak. I've seen it in the Vancouver area where its presence is not considered unusual, but in the interior of BC, it's a little more unexpected. That sighting was exciting enough until I got home and heard the unmistakable call note of a White-throated Sparrow one of the Zonos - and it came from my lilac bush! Suddenly my mind began spinning. If I started my Baillie Birdathon I would have two unexpected species on my list, one of which never before made the list. Only one thing prevented me from instigating my new plan. Several days ago someone asked if they could come along on Baillie Birdathon day, but they had not yet confirmed whether they really intended to go. So, with the clarion call of the White-throated Sparrow still ringing in my ears I checked emails to see if the ride-along had confirmed. There was indeed a message. The person couldn't make the trip. So I declared this day to be my Baillie Birdathon day. Out the window went my plans of getting an early start and following a grid pattern from places in the west, to locations in the north. Seat of the pants birding would rule the day. I was just in the middle of preparing a late breakfast when I announced my intention to begin the birdathon. I would begin by counting this mornings' birds to see where I stood - I needed 33 more species to reach 100. It seemed a modest goal. It was noon when I set off with a volunteer driver. I decided to visit the 103 Mile area, gather some sightings, then head back south. Every bird you don't expect to see, but do see, fattens the numbers. On the shores of the 103 Mile Lake I counted a 'peep' Sandpiper which I couldn't identify but felt confident I wouldn't see more of, so exact identity wouldn't be a problem. White-winged Scoters were also an unexpected species picked up at this location. Every species you expect to see, but don't, is cause for concern. I missed the hoped for Pied-billed Grebe at the 101 Mile Marsh. Perhaps I could find it elsewhere. The new sewer lagoon was the next stop. It often offers surprises such as a Wood Duck, but did not deliver any bonuses on this day. Exeter Lake also is often full of surprises, but the hoped for White-crowned Sparrow song did not ring out over the busy road traffic and industrial machinery sounds. This was perhaps another reason to have waited for Sunday, it's much quieter. Team Duck was coming in nicely. A quick tally showed all I needed now was a Canvasback and a Cinnamon teal. Luckily I knew where they were the 100 Mile Marsh. And there they were right where they have been all week. It was time for a break and during a mid afternoon food stop I tallied the list. I had 94. Now the day was turning gray and less appealing, my enthusiasm dwindled. Perhaps a trip to Skaday Bridge would deliver a Kingfisher, a Sandhill Crane or, as it did in past years a Black Swift or Long-billed Curlew. >From Skaday Bridge we stood and looked over Horse Lake. It quickly became apparent that today the marshy fields around Horse Lake would only deliver copious quantities of mosquitoes. We left shortly after tallying a lone Great Blue Heron. Back at the house I was still short of 100 species but decided to get up early next morning, race to the town waterfall, and get the rest of my sightings before 6:15 am. But no dice. I now could choose to do the Baillie on another day, or content myself with only 97 species. I decided to call it a day. How did it feel to settle for less than 100 species on a Baillie Birdathon day? Grrrr! I could use my rather unorthodox start to the day as an excuse for the poor showing but when looking over my list of birds, for birds to blame, the most obvious lack of support came from the Flycatchers. Alder, Willow and Least Flycatchers had not yet been recorded at the time I did my Birdathon. Neither had the Eastern Kingbird. I have a saying which I've relied on in past years: When the Pewee sings gaily, only then do the Baillie. This, of course, implies that when the Pewee is here, every other bird was also here. Maybe its time to work on a new collection of sayings. To e-mail Tom CLICK HERE To look at previous column CLICK HERE |
