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Monday, January 28, 2013

Superbowl of Birding X: RESULTS

For the fifth consecutive year, the North Branch Nature Center sponsored young birders to compete in the Superbowl of Birding in Essex County, MA, only this year something was different... there were two teams!  NBNC has coordinated youth teams for birding competitions since 1999 and these fun events have been an opportunity for kids from around New England to come together and celebrate their love of birds.  From Berkshire to Rutland, this year's participants represented all corners of Vermont. 

This Western Grebe at Plum Island
may have been the rarest bird of the day.
The first team, the North Branch Noddies, was coached by Chip Darmstadt and consisted of middle-school aged birders and adult chaperones who were participating in their very first competition.  Despite the challenges of cold weather and unfamiliar birds, the youth team had an exceptional day tallying numerous rare species.  The second team, the Chocolate-headed Cowbirds (with sprinkles), was coached by Larry Clarfeld and consisted of high-school students and young adults, all veterans of previous birding competitions.  The two teams' combined tally of 68 species highlights the diversity of birds that can be found along the New England coast, even in the depths of winter. 

The Superbowl operates on a points system, where rare birds are given a higher point value, and the combined species list below depicts the point values of each bird as follows:
1 point (plain text)
2 points (bold)
3 POINTS (BOLD, CAPS)
4 POINTS (BOLD, CAPS, ITALICS)
5 POINTS (BOLD, CAPS, ITALICS, UNDERLINED)


Canada Goose WESTERN GREBE Blue Jay
BRANT Northern Gannet  American Crow
Mute Swan Great Cormorant Black-capped Chickadee
Gadwall Bald Eagle Tufted Titmouse
American Black Duck Northern Harrier Red-breasted Nuthatch
Mallard COOPER'S HAWK  White-breasted Nuthatch
CANVASBACK Red-tailed Hawk Carolina Wren
RING-NECKED DUCK PEREGRINE FALCON HERMIT THRUSH
Greater Scaup  SANDERLING American Robin
Common Eider BONAPARTE'S GULL Northern Mockingbird
Harlequin Duck Ring-billed Gull European Starling
Surf Scoter Herring Gull YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER
White-winged Scoter Iceland Gull  American Tree Sparrow
Black Scoter GLAUCOUS GULL Song Sparrow
Bufflehead Great Black-backed Gull White-throated Sparrow
Common Goldeneye RAZORBILL Dark-eyed Junco
Hooded Merganser  Black Guillemot Northern Cardinal
Common Merganser Rock Pigeon House Finch
Red-breasted Merganser Mourning Dove WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL
WILD TURKEY Eastern Screech-Owl  COMMON REDPOLL
Red-throated Loon RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER PINE GROSBEAK
Common Loon Downy Woodpecker House Sparrow
Horned Grebe Hairy Woodpecker

1 comment:

  1. Nice to see Vermont sending 2 teams and finding a nice diverse assortment of species!

    Tom Pirro

    ReplyDelete