Birding Cup Results!
written by Drew Weber and Alex Lamoreaux
We are excited to announce that the Nemesis Birders won the Birding Cup with 151 species! Read below for a summary of our 24 hours of birding.
The Nemesis Birders with the Birding Cup
We started the evening of the the Cup by scouting out areas around Bald Eagle State Park. After some lucky finds, we headed to our starting place and waited until 7pm to twitch the Peregrine Falcon that so nicely perched on the bridge in McElhatten. Next we swung by a wetlands in Mill Hall and saw the American Bittern we had scouted half an hour previous.
Peregrine Falcon at McElhatten
Next we headed back to Bald Eagle SP and managed to dip on a bunch of the species that were present just a few hours before such as Common Merganser, Common Tern and Caspian Tern. We did pick up Common and Red-throated Loon as well as Horned Grebe and Red-breasted Merganser to start off a nice list of waterfowl. We then headed on to Julian but it was raining too hard and we made a game time decision to head to some strip mines for grassland birds. It took forever to hear a Henslow's Sparrow for #50 but in the meantime we did hear a Long-eared Owl, several Grasshopper Sparrows and the unique nocturnal song of Ovenbirds. A Sora at Julian just before midnight put us at 53 before heading off for a couple hours of sleep. Yeah, we slept....
In the early morning hours we rushed around to pick up owls and failed. We did hear a couple birds flying overhead and added Black-billed Cuckoo and Swainson's Thrush to our list this way.
A drive through Scotia Barrens which we expected to be very productive produced very few birds. We got the whole way through the barrens and only added 8 species of warblers - Chestnut-sided, Hooded, Golden-winged, Black-and-white, Pine, Wilson's Warbler, and American Redstart.
Lower Trail
We got frustrated with the lack of migrants and by 6:45am we decided to head to the Lower Trail and see if it was birdier there. We ended up picking some great birds up on the drive down including Northern Parula, Yellow-throated Vireo and Orchard Oriole.
The Lower Trail ended up being productive, despite taking much longer than expected to find our target species of Worm-eating, Cerulean and Yellow-throated Warblers. Worm-eating Warbler came easily but we run over a mile down the trail until some of us finally heard a Yellow-throated Warbler. We all heard the Cerulean nearby but we did not meet the threshold of enough people hearing the Yellow-throated Warbler to count it so we ran back slightly dejected to the car. We decided to quickly run down the other direction a short distance and lo and behold, both Yellow-throated and Cerulean Warblers were singing much closer to our car than the ones we originally found. We did pick up Blackpoll Warbler and Great Blue Heron along the trail so not all was lost.
Moving on, we headed to Old Crow by 9:30m and picked up Bobolink but couldn't find Marsh Wren or Virginia Rail. We next headed through Huntingdon where we picked up Eastern Screech-Owl and Prairie Warbler at some spots that Ian knew about.
Our next locations were in Rothrock with stops in Alan Seeger and Bear Meadows. On the drive up we picked up Red-tailed Hawk and a lucky spot of an immature Red-shouldered Hawk. In Alan Seeger we were finally able to find Blackburnian Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo, and Dark-eyed Junco among others. The high pitched calls of Golden-crowned Kinglet, Brown Creeper, and Ruby-throated Hummingbird also added to our list.
Next was a quick stop at Colyer and on to the Red-headed Woodpecker stop where we dipped on them. I was a tad bitter that we missed the Red-headed Woodpecker I had staked out earlier in the week, especially once we heard that Justine's team had found it. We (almost) made up for it by seeing this one on the drive up to Black Moshannon SP later in the day.
Missed the Red-headed Woodpecker - this will have to do
Sprinting out of the Duck Pond after some easy ticks
The Duck Pond held several easy ticks for us including Ring-necked Duck, Redhead and Canvasback to get us up to 139 species. The American Coots that had held on for some long were gone, and there were very few songbirds around, not surprising as it was in the middle of the day.
At this point it was 1:30pm and we decided we needed to run up to Black Moshannon SP to pick up a couple breeding birds we had not seen yet. On our drive there we stopped at Julian again (now with the benefit of daylight) and still could not find Virginia Rail but did get a family of Hooded Mergansers and a single Bufflehead.
Black Moshannon was productive and we quickly found Canada Warbler, Purple Finch and Hermit Thrush. A distantly calling Barred Owl was a nice surprise after missing it at several spots the previous night.
We then headed back to Bald Eagle SP in hopes of finding the terns and Common Mergansers that had avoided us yesterday. We were unable to find them but did pick up a Tennessee Warbler at Upper Greens Run and a Greater Yellowlegs at the dam.
Our next stop was Toftrees Pond in the hopes of finding a Great Egret. No such luck but we did finally score a Nashville Warbler for #150! An embarrassing miss at this spot was when Ian flushed a Wilson's Snipe from behind us and none of the rest of us were able to get on it, or refind it.
Looking for Virginia Rails
After failing to get Virginia Rail at multiple locations, we decided to also try Millbrook Marsh, but no luck. We were hoping for some other passerines or maybe a teal, but walked away empty handed. At this point we were running out of time and decided to spend the last hour at the south entrance to Scotia. With just 12 minutes remaining we finally found a Blue-winged Warbler which I initially saw fly across the trail behind us flashing its white outer tail feathers. Finally after some coaxing it came into view for everyone else to see.
At 7:00pm, we headed over to Shaver's Creek where all the other teams were gathering. We tallied up our species list and had been able to find 151 species! This was a high enough total for us to win the competition! Also, 151 was the second highest total ever for the Birding Cup! If migration had been better the nights before and we hadn't missed some of the easier targets like Great Egret and Caspian Tern, it is quite possible that we could have easily ended up with closer to 160 or 165 - good thing there is always next year!
Birding Cup 2012 – Support Shaver’s Creek and the Nemesis Birders
written by Drew Weber
This year, several current and former Penn State students decided to compete in the Birding Cup, the annual birding contest run by Shaver's Creek Environmental Center as a fundraiser for their environmental education programs. This will be the first year that Alex, Nate, Josh or Drew have competed while Ian competed for the first time last year. We are hoping that some of our faithful readers will help us raise money for this great cause!
- Drew Weber
- Alex Lamoreaux
- Nate Fronk
- Ian Gardner
- Josh Lefever
We are shooting for 150 species this year, a lofty goal but we are hoping that our familiarity with the region will give us the edge we need to find lots of birds. The competition starts at 7:00pm on Friday May 3, an early date which may decrease the number of warblers moving through and cause us to miss later migrants such as thrushes and flycatchers. We will pick up as many species as we can before it gets dark and then go for owls, rails and bitterns. Depending on our luck with owls we might head out early in the morning to try again before heading to hotspots like Scotia and Lower Trail for warblers and other migrants. We will put in some good miles through Centre and Huntingdon Counties rounding everything up before heading back to Shaver's Creek by 7:30pm on Saturday evening to submit our totals and see what others managed to find.
We will be counting on the weather to be excellent for migration, hopefully some light to moderate south winds and no precipitation. The best case scenario would be to see excellent migration condtions from the Gulf Coast north, bringing lots of new migrants through the area.
Contributions may be made as outright gifts to support The Birding Cup, or donations can be made "per bird species." In other words, you may pledge a given amount for each bird identified, so that a $0.10 per bird pledge would equal $15 if we reach our goal. You can make secure, online donations at http://bit.ly/2012BirdingCupDonations. Make sure you note Nemesis Birders in the “Additional Information” box at the bottom of the donation page. For each $50 we raise, we will get a ticket for a Nikon binocular raffle! Contact Drew at drewweber@gmail.com if you are interested in sponsoring us by species.
Our Sponsors
Update: We currently have raised $1.50 per bird species we see. Help us boost this number! email drewweber@gmail.com for more info. Thanks!
2012 Yard Contest – February results
written by Drew Weber
For February we are now up to 37 entries in the yard contest. People are doing pretty good in all the categories, especially those with some attached property which is probably helping them with sparrows and other passerines. Two yards are tied at 43 species, with quite a few not far behind.
It will be interesting to see how many more species people add in March as the first migrants start to move through.
| Category 1: Urban yards, apartments, and condos | |||
| Observer | Yard Name | Checklists | Species |
| Alyssia Church | Apt, Centre, US-PA | 8 | 17 |
| Peter Keyel | Squirrel Hill, Allegheny, US-PA | 27 | 16 |
| Robin Smith | Robin's yard, York, US-PA | 39 | 15 |
| Steve Brenner | State College Park Apts, US-PA | 6 | 12 |
| Amy Davis | Davis Apartment, Chester, US-PA | 6 | 10 |
| Category 2: Suburban Yards surrounded by suburban yards | |||
| Observer | Yard Name | Checklists | Species |
| Barb Elliot | Home Habitat, US-PA | 19 | 29 |
| Josh Schulz | schulz Lancaster, US-PA | 10 | 25 |
| Jason Weller | Weller's, Snyder, US-PA | 7 | 24 |
| Nelson Weber | E Broad, Berks, US-PA | 5 | 21 |
| Art Schiavo | Three Spruces-Hershey, US-PA | 6 | 18 |
| Nick Kerlin | Ridge Ave., Centre, US-PA | 6 | 16 |
| Category 3: Suburban yards adjacent to good bird habitat | |||
| Observer | Yard Name | Checklists | Species |
| Brian Henderson | East Norriton (Swede Rd/Stony Creek), Montgomery, US-PA | 53 | 43 |
| Carl Engstrom | Engstrom's Yard, Centre, US-PA | 48 | 32 |
| Shawn Collins | My Backyard Crawford County, US-PA | 11 | 30 |
| Gordon Dimmig | B&G, Elizabethtown, Lancaster, US-PA | 14 | 29 |
| Chad Kauffman | Kauffman Lane Yard, US-PA | 5 | 27 |
| Donna Mohney | Donna's Yard, US-PA | 9 | 23 |
| Andrew Weber | Toftrees, Centre, US-PA | 10 | 18 |
| NateFronk | Vairo Village, Centre, US-PA | 7 | 13 |
| Category 4: 1 to 5 acre yards | |||
| Observer | Yard Name | Checklists | Species |
| Joe Sebastiani | Sebastiani Yard, Avondale, Chester Co., US-PA | 18 | 43 |
| Edith Leaman | Leaman yard, Lancaster Co. PA, US-PA | 26 | 38 |
| Michael Gardner | Mike's Yard, Cochranville, Chester Co, US-PA | 7 | 35 |
| Greg Grove | Grove Yard, McAlevys Fort, Hunt. Co, US-PA | 10 | 33 |
| Dan Ombalski | Ombalski Yard, Unionville, Centre Co, US-PA | 3 | 29 |
| Anne Hurst | Hurst Yard, Lancaster Co., US-PA | 7 | 28 |
| Timothy Schreckengost | Kramer, Jefferson, US-PA | 11 | 28 |
| DougWentzel | Ennisville, Huntingdon, US-PA | 5 | 24 |
| David F Ryan | 24 Harris ST, State College, PA 803, US-PA | 22 | 23 |
| Margaret Brittingham | StoneRow Lane Home, Centre, US-PA | 8 | 22 |
| Jim Fiorentino | Iron Valley Dr, Lebanon, US-PA | 1 | 11 |
| Stephen Kloiber | Pen Argyl, Northampton, US-PA | 1 | 11 |
| Category 5: Yards more than 5 acres | |||
| Observer | Yard Name | Checklists | Species |
| Corey Husic | Husic Property, Monroe, US-PA | 47 | 41 |
| peter lusardi | Lusardi, Cumberland Co., US-PA | 5 | 30 |
| Jay Zook | Zook, Mifflin, US-PA | 5 | 29 |
| Carole Winslow | Maple Glen Farm, Clarion Co., US-PA | 3 | 25 |
| Timothy Schreckengost | Rochester Mills, Indiana, US-PA | 34 | 23 |
| michael dreibelbis | MyFarm, Centre, US-PA | 12 | 23 |
2012 Patch Contest – February results
written by Drew Weber
Here are the February totals for the patch list competition. We are now up to 62 patches! Bucktoe Creek Preserve seems to be running away with the species total at 70 although the playing field may not be level since that is a multi-person effort. That's not a big deal though since this competition is all for fun. It is nice to see a bunch of patches over 50 species, as well as many patches that are having more than 1 or 2 checklists submitted each week. That is producing some great data on seasonal abundance and spring arrivals!
Keep up the good work everyone and check out the January results to compare. There is still plenty of time to join in the fun by following the instructions here.
| Category 1 | |||
| Observer | Patch Name | Checklists | Species |
| Alex Lamoreaux | Duck Pond, Centre, US-PA | 22 | 23 |
| Andrew Weber | Duck Pond, Centre, US-PA | 22 | 19 |
| Alyssia Church | Duck Pond, Centre, US-PA | 15 | 18 |
| Carl Engstrom | Lederer Park, Centre, US-PA | 5 | 14 |
| michael dreibelbis | Duck Pond, Centre, US-PA | 4 | 11 |
| Category 2: | |||
| Observer | Patch Name | Checklists | Species |
| Amy Davis | Exton Park CFS, Chester, US-PA | 11 | 53 |
| Gordon Dimmig | Elizabethtown Water Authority, Lancaster, US-PA | 3 | 27 |
| michael dreibelbis | Julian wetlands, Centre, US-PA | 7 | 11 |
| John De Wolf | Exton Park, US-PA | 1 | 6 |
| Category 3: | |||
| Observer | Patch Name | Checklists | Species |
| Gordon Dimmig | Conewago Trail and Wetlands, Lancaster, US-PA | 9 | 39 |
| Andrew Weber | PSU University Park Campus, Centre, US-PA | 37 | 36 |
| Amy Davis | Struble Trail, Chester, US-PA | 3 | 32 |
| Jim Fiorentino | LVRT, Cornwall, Lebanon, US-PA | 3 | 26 |
| Alex Lamoreaux | PSU University Park Campus, Centre, US-PA | 52 | 25 |
| Alyssia Church | Walnut Springs/Lederer Park, Centre, US-PA | 5 | 20 |
| NateFronk | PSU University Park Campus, US-PA | 10 | 14 |
| Greg Grove | Summit School Rd, Huntingdon, US-PA | 5 | 12 |
| Category 4: | |||
| Observer | Patch Name | Checklists | Species |
| Vernon Gauthier | Various Ponds Cumberland, US-PA | 16 | 59 |
| Michael Gardner | Mt. Eden Rd, Lancaster, US-PA | 4 | 49 |
| Michael Gardner | Laffy's Pond, Chester Co, US-PA | 8 | 39 |
| Alyssia Church | Millbrook Marsh, Centre, US-PA | 12 | 37 |
| Gordon Dimmig | Prescot Road, Lancaster, US-PA | 3 | 32 |
| Alex Lamoreaux | PSU Arboretum--Big Hollow, Centre, US-PA | 8 | 30 |
| Greg Grove | Davis/Barr Rds loop, Huntingdon, US-PA | 6 | 29 |
| michael dreibelbis | Colyer Lake, Centre, US-PA | 10 | 29 |
| Amy Davis | Springton Manor Farm, Chester, US-PA | 1 | 25 |
| Andrew Weber | Colyer Lake, Centre, US-PA | 5 | 25 |
| Carl Engstrom | Millbrook Marsh Nature Center, Centre, US-PA | 3 | 21 |
| Andrew Weber | The Arboretum at Penn State, Centre, US-PA | 4 | 20 |
| Alyssia Church | PSU Arboretum--Big Hollow, Centre, US-PA | 4 | 20 |
| Donna Mohney | Donegal Lake, US-PA | 6 | 17 |
| Corey Husic | Green Pond Area, Northampton, US-PA | 20 | 15 |
| Donna Mohney | Wilpen, US-PA | 6 | 14 |
| Category 5: | |||
| Observer | Patch Name | Checklists | Species |
| Jim Fiorentino | Middle Creek Wildlife Area, Lancaster & Lebanon, US-PA | 9 | 58 |
| Vernon Gauthier | Big Spring Creek Cumberland, US-PA | 8 | 49 |
| Gordon Dimmig | Middle Creek WMA, Lancaster, US-PA | 4 | 46 |
| Vernon Gauthier | Mudlevel Road Cumberland, US-PA | 9 | 23 |
| Gordon Dimmig | Donegal Springs Farmland, Lancaster, US-PA | 5 | 19 |
| Robin Smith | Dallastown/Red Lion Patch, York, US-PA | 51 | 18 |
| Jason Weller | Gamelands 212, Snyder, US-PA | 1 | 16 |
| Gordon Dimmig | Susquehanna River - Falmouth Access, Lancaster, US-PA | 6 | 14 |
| Greg Grove | Masseyburg PSU forest/RothrockSF, US-PA | 1 | 8 |
| Category 6: | |||
| Observer | Patch Name | Checklists | Species |
| Bucktoe Creek Preserve | Bucktoe Creek Preserve, Chester Co., US-PA | 20 | 70 |
| Stephen Kloiber | Cherry Valley NWR, Monroe, US-PA | 9 | 58 |
| Alex Lamoreaux | Bald Eagle State Park, Centre, US-PA | 7 | 57 |
| Andrew Weber | Bald Eagle State Park, Centre, US-PA | 13 | 56 |
| Michael Gardner | Bucktoe Creek Preserve, Chester Co, US-PA | 4 | 52 |
| Barbara Ritzheimer | Swatara State Park, US-PA | 29 | 47 |
| michael dreibelbis | Bald Eagle State Park, Centre, US-PA | 16 | 42 |
| Anne Hurst | Middle Creek WMA, Lancaster, US-PA | 5 | 39 |
| Andrew Weber | Toftrees gamelands, Centre, US-PA | 16 | 39 |
| Stephen Kloiber | Jacobsburg State Park, Northampton, US-PA | 3 | 39 |
| Gordon Dimmig | Masonic Village, Lancaster, US-PA | 9 | 37 |
| Robin Smith | Wm Kain County Park, York, US-PA | 45 | 35 |
| NateFronk | Bald Eagle State Park, Centre, US-PA | 8 | 34 |
| Jason Weller | Faylor Lake, Snyder, US-PA | 3 | 33 |
| Shawn Collins | Miller's Pond-Crawford County, US-PA | 7 | 32 |
| Vernon Gauthier | PA State Game Lands 169 Cumberland, US-PA | 4 | 28 |
| Timothy Schreckengost | State Game Lands 262, Indiana, US-PA | 1 | 18 |
| michael dreibelbis | Toftrees Gamelands, Centre, US-PA | 1 | 14 |
| michael dreibelbis | Scotia Barrens (SGL 176), Centre, US-PA | 8 | 14 |
| Vincent Koczurik | Jacobsburg State Park, Northampton, US-PA | 1 | 11 |
| Alex Lamoreaux | Scotia Barrens, Centre, US-PA | 4 | 10 |
| Alyssia Church | Toftrees Gamelands, Centre, US-PA | 1 | 10 |
| peter lusardi | State Gamelands 230 - Cumberland Co., US-PA | 1 | 9 |
| NateFronk | Toftrees gamelands, Centre, US-PA | 1 | 8 |
| NateFronk | Tioga-Hammond Lakes, Tioga, US-PA | 1 | 4 |
| Andrew Weber | Scotia Barrens, Centre, US-PA | 1 | 2 |
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