The Big Sit! 2010 Team Reports

Weather: sunny, some clouds, warm

Location:

Time At Location: 12:00am till 8:00pm

Slow raptor flight, but nice variety. Disapointing number of warbler species. Nice surprises like Ruffed Grouse. Captured and banded 23 Northern Saw-whet Owls.

Weather: Rain in morning - clearing from 1 to 2 pm - some sun rest of day

Location: Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon

Time At Location: 9 hours (8:15am to 5:00pm)

For 8 of the 9 hour sit, an adult Peregrine was perched on a snag near viewing circle. It was joined briefly by an immature Peregrine. Enormus numbers of Canada and Cackling Geese in the afternoon. Single Snow Goose mixed in with Canadas.

Weather: mid-60's to mid-80's, clear skies, 5 -15 mph winds

Location: Aransas NWR, under the oaks at Visitor Center

Time At Location: 6:45 a.m. to 7:20 p.m.

This was our 4th year to participate in the Big Sit at the Refuge. Ended with the best tally yet of 52 species. Thanks go to the early a.m. team for getting 42 species & those who squeezed out the remaining 10 til after sunset. Since this was the 1st day of National Wildlife Refuge Week the staff & FAMI volunteers treated all to great desserts & coffee at the Visitor Center. Made the day complete!

Weather: Clear and calm. Temperatures ranged from 38 to 75 degrees.

Location: Bald Eagle State Park; Approximately: Lat. 41.028656 N, Long. 77.648720 W

Time At Location: 12 hours (5 am to 5 pm)

This is the fourth year we have done the Big Sit at Bald Eagle State Park and we set a new high of record species. We added eight new species were not seen or heard in the previous three years: green-winged teal, common loon, green heron, merlin, greater yellowlegs, spotted sandpiper, Bonaparte’s gull, barred owl, and white-throated sparrow. We also had three “nemesis” birds which were seen or heard by members of the bird-watching crew when they were outside the limits of the circle: great horned owl, gray catbird, dark-eyed junco. This is the first year we were not able to count a great horned owl. Bald eagles were seen at 10:12 am, 11:33 am, 2:13 pm (adult), and 2:56 pm.

Weather: chilly, foggy morning clearing to clear, sunny skies 42-low/ 79 high

Location: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge - bunkhouse

Time At Location: 6am - 6pm, 12 hrs

didn't realize we didn't need to count each bird - so we have individual species totals, too - but good info. for the Refuge. Was great fun as part of National Wildlife Refuge Week. Got to see Kestrel having lunch, migrating cranes and Harrier fight.

Weather: partly cloudy, low of about 65, high of about 85

Location: Lake Creek Trail in northwest Austin

Time At Location: 6:00 AM - 7:30 PM with 1 hour break from 3-4 PM

Our most interesting bird observations were White-faced Ibis and Brown Thrasher. We also watched an adult Cooper's Hawk take down a White-winged Dove, but the dove hid in a nearby bush and eventually escaped! Non-bird observations included a Blotched Water Snake and many White-tailed Deer. More highlights and photos are posted here.

Weather: Clear with very light wind. 62-94 degrees

Location: Black Bayou Lake NWR, Monroe, LA

Time At Location: 10 hours

The weather was good for the count: cool in the morning to hot during the day, cooling down again in the late afternoon. There was a light westerly wind. Many of the birds observed were actively feeding on Virginia Creeper and Pepper Vine berries.

Weather: 61.3F, ENE wind @ 2mph, 58F dew point, 89% humidity, 29.84" barometer, moon phase 3.49

Location: CCES, CUW, Mequon WI

Time At Location: 45 minutes

Fairly slow during this time. I haven't had other results submitted to me up to this point, so I may have been the only observer within the 24-hr period... :(

Weather: Calm and sunny. Slight SW breeze later. Morning fog between 07:20 and 08:50hrs. Temps ranged from 30F at dawn to 60F at noon.

Location: Clapp Hill, Gill, Massachusetts.

Time At Location: 06:00 - 12:00hrs

First bird noted at 0615hrs with White-throated Sparrow. From there several 'pulses' of activity at dawn, and then again just after sunrise. Some migration noted with Yellow-rumped, Palm and Blackpoll Warblers moving and later, Sharp-shinned Hawks (22). Several locally good species included Wood Duck,Northern Harrier, Gray-cheeked Thrush, White-crowned and Lincoln's Sparrows.

Site was fog-bound for about 90 minutes in mid-morning most certainly hampering the species tally. Overall, an excellent result for six hours and encouraging enough to try the same site next year! JPS

Weather: cool and calm

Location: Cold Springs NWR near Hermiston, OR

Time At Location: 7 a.m. until noon

The Ruff was observed on October 9, 10, and ll, the first ever in Umatilla County, Oregon!

Weather: clear and 75degree high

Location: Bucktoe Creek Preserve, Avondale, PA

Time At Location: 15 hours

25 total. Joe Sebastiani and William Ryan Captains

Beautiful night with lots of stars and not many overhead nocturnal migrants. A mystery hoot that we thought (hoped) would be a Long-eared Owl but turned out to be a female Great Horned Owl squawk call. New birds tapered off after lunch. Best birds were 2 flyover Bobolink and a very low, circling Peregrine Falcon.

Weather: 45-57F; North 0-10mph; clear becoming overcast with light drizzle

Location: Chatfield State Park Heronry Overlook

Time At Location: 05:27 - 19:00 (13.5 hours)

24 people braved the weather (again...5 years in a row of bad weather out of 8 years of running The Big Sit! at this location)!

Weather: cool clear morning, warm sunny afternoon

Location: Tule Trail, Stillwater NWR, FAllon, NV

Time At Location: 7am - 3pm

LOTS of blackbirds in huge flocks coming in from hayfields; as day warmed, weed-control goat herd moved closer, which brought the swallows in hordes diving after the insects the goats kicked up; very entertaining to watch!

early afternoon, the raptors appeared, and seemed to play or practice at chasing the warblers and swallows into the cottonwoods, never catching any. biting insects soon followed and no amount of lotion, spray, repellant, swatting or protective clothing won that battle! even the goats left, along with most of the birds!

Weather: Rain in the morning, cloudy in the afternoon

Location: Cheadle Pond road up to barn

Time At Location: 0630-1730

A soggy morning kept regular sitters away but we had an awning of just the right size to cover our circle. Clearing in the afternoon brought a few friends out to help round out the list. Highlights were an entertaining Red-shouldered hawk (very vocal throughout the day and flew out a few times to harass a bald eagle and chase a raven), and great looks at a merlin and cooper's hawk flying right over us. Big misses were owls and several songbirds we've counted in years past.

Non bird observations were a very relaxed coyote and a pair of river otter playfully fishing among egrets in the marsh.

Weather: Sunny and warm

Location: Frog Waller

Time At Location: 8am to 6pm on and off

Missing bluebirds, mourning doves, geese and ducks that we would have expected. Flock of Robins is unusual and the RB Nuthatches are a treat.

Not as much time or as many people as we had planned, but we enjoyed our first BS.

Weather: 55-80 Degrees and sunny most of day with one very short 2 min.light rain cloud.

Location: Davis residence near Wright Marsh,Wayne Co.,OH

Time At Location: 6am-6pm

Also noted 14 spcs. of butterflies during the sit.

Weather: sunny, clear, light breeze, 48-70

Location: upper drive

Time At Location: 7:00 AM- 5:30 PM

Weather: Cool and calm

Location: Columbia River near McNary Dam

Time At Location: 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

22 Wilcon's Snipe rested on a grassy/rocky outcropping for a half hour before moving on.

Weather: Clear, Warm & sunny. Breezy afternoon.

Location: Horseshoe Bend, Weatherford, Texas

Time At Location: 12 hours

Of course...there were way fewer birds than even yesterday!! But did see the Great Crested Flycatcher take a bath! Had never seen that before. And the Lark Sparrows were nice to see.

A good time was had by all (me!).

Weather: cold at midnight, cold in morning, but got very nice in afternoon.

Location: Mifflintown on the Juniata River below the Port Royal river road.

Time At Location: Midnight until 4:30pm

the feeders were busy and the highlight was a group of eastern screech owls at night and morning and a flyby hummingbird species that was a passerby and didn't show up again at the feeders. Another great time of food, friends and birding.

Who wants seconds?

Weather: Sunny, warm, mostly clear, calm, low of 23 degrees at 0800, high of 44 degrees at 1400

Location: Kenai NWR - Skilak Lake (Lower Boat Launch)

Time At Location: 11 hours - sunrise to sunset (0800- 1900)

One lone moose across the lake. Spruce Grouse, Northern Goshawk, Great Horned Owl, and Red-breasted Nuthatch seen nearby but not from the count circle, alas. Expected to tally 30 species but weather was abnormally sunny, windless, and warm. Because the Big Sit is so late for us at this latitude, 60 degrees north latitude, fall migration (diversity and abundance) peaks much earlier - late July to early August. This venue should yield 60 to 70 species from late May to mid June.

One birder fell in the frigid lake and had to dry off by a fire! Possibly the first officially registered and reported Big Sit in Alaska ever!!!

Weather: Sunny

Location: backyard over looking pasture and Byrd Slew

Time At Location: 12:10am and 6:50am to 7pm

I was pleased to hear the Great Horned Owl on my first try. We heared one at dawn and dusk too. The Sharp-shinned Hawk was my suprize raptor for the day. I saw an Osprey and a White-tailed Kite on Friday and Thursday. We also sometimes see Bald Eagle and Harrier Hawks here. Sunset brought a nice flurry of activity with at least 5 Western Bluebirds hunting close by. Our reward for putting up the nest boxes. A fun first Big Sit in Fresno County.

While not in the circle I found a Nuttal's Woodpecker. Also saw a Belted Kingfisher about a mile away.

Weather: Sunny, not a clud in the sky, light N and W winds

Location: Lenoir Preserve

Time At Location: 5:30 AM - 4:00PM

Great beutiful day. We had the second most species we've seen in ten years. Somehow we missed Double-crested Cormorant - it's always some common bird that you miss! Large numbers of Canada Geese, Blue Jays and American Robins were seen migrating in the early morning. Hawks were few and far between but we did manage most of the expected species. Best bird way a flyover calling Dickcissel.

Weather: sunny, high of 22 (Celsius!)

Location: east end Toronto back yard

Time At Location: couple of hours in the morning, couple of hours late afternoon

It was white-breasted nuthatch day here. Although we went out front and suggested to our mourning dove that it should get to the back yard, it did not comply. A day earlier and we would have had a winter wren and an Eastern phoebe.

We actually did not realize that we were participating in the Big Sit. It's Thanksgiving Sunday here and we were simply sitting outside watching the birds when Sara said, "You know, sometime soon they do this Big Sit - we should think about doing it!" When we went inside and checked the date, lo and behold, it was today. We called ours the Little Sit.

Weather: Began cloudy with fog; cleared by mid-morning

Location: Seltzer Park, Seaside Cove

Time At Location: 08:00 to 13:00

Disappointing passerine number; poor visibility early in the morning during seawatches

Weather: Mild, 50 degrees in AM, warming to upper 70's in mid afternoon.

Location: Rear observation platform at Schoolhouse Pond.

Time At Location: 7:10 AM until 3:54 PM

The weather was perfect, with clear skies and low humidity. It became breezy in the afternoon. Large numbers of flyover raptors including 10 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 2 Cooper's Hawks, 5 Red-shouldered Hawks, 1 Red-tailed Hawk, 5 Bald Eagles, 2 Kestrels, and 1 Merlin. However, we missed many songbirds including most warblers and both kinglets. Other highlights included a Wilson's Snipe that flushed from near the platform, a group of 53 high flyover cormorants, a calling Red-breasted Nuthatch, and large numbers of flyover gulls.

Weather: Mostly sunny. 45 degrees in the morning , 80 degrees in the afternoon.

Location: City park in the heart of Jefferson City, MO . Near wooded area with tall, mature hardwoods

Time At Location: 6:32 am to 7:15 pm

We counted 31 different species and we got 28 of those by 10:00 am. We still saw many birds most of the day, however no new species after 12:40 pm. Best Sighting was an Eastern Towhee, Brown Creeper, and White-throated sparrow all showing up at the same time to the "Bubbler" feature of the park's Wild Bird Garden!

Big Sit participants enjoyed watching a female Downy Woodpecker excavating a cavity in a tree just outside our circle. (see photo in photo section).

Weather: clear light N wind 70-85 F

Location: balcony overlooking Middle River, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Time At Location: 0509-1930

A few nocturnal migrants, fair hawk flight after 930 but few other species involved (1 Barn Swallow, no Wood Storks). Afternoon was very slow.

Weather: Gorgeous, clear, mild. 70-90 degrees.

Location: Intersect of Zacate Creek and the Rio Grande River and Las Palmas Trail in Laredo, Texas

Time At Location: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Best show was watching an Osprey eating a fish sitting atop a phone pole.

Went to use one of the scopes to check out a bird and there was a Groove-billed Ani in the view.

Weather: Low 46, High 71. Winds 5-10mph out of N or NE from 12am-10am, then out of S from 11am through rest of day. Mostly/partly sunny.

Location: Cape May Bird Observatory Hawk Watch Site, Cape May Point State Park, Cape May Point, NJ

Time At Location: 12:00am - 8:00pm

Decent nocturnal flight, highlighted by Nelson's Sparrow, Veery and Blue Grosbeak. Excellent movement of birds during first half of morning, with some huge dry spells during the afternoon. Total of 139 the second highest ever recorded at site. Full report available at: http://cmboviewfromthecape.blogspot.com/ (look for posts made on Oct 14, 2010)

Weather: beautiful day!

Location: My Backyard

Time At Location: from 13h00 to 22h00

Eastern-Screech Owl was called at 21h00... answer after 2 minutes!

Weather: 40-60 degrees F, mostly clear, variable NW wind

Location: Carter Hill hawkwatch

Time At Location: 0715-1915

Lots of Canada Geese moving today (500+). Most common songbirds were Yellow-rumped Warbler and American Robin. <40 hawks seen for hawk watch component. Field and White-crowned Sparrows seen in brushy area ~100 yards away, but not on big-sit proper.

A busy day at the orchard for visitors and apple pickers.

Weather:

Location:

Time At Location:

Weather: Sunny, Calm early then SW at 5-10 late

Location: Pea Island NWR North Pond SW corner observation platform

Time At Location: 6:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

Nice flight of accipiters (approx 50) also 3 - 4 Peregrines and 2 or 3 Merlin; also several Osprey moving south; fairly good movement of passerine moving south in a.m. and then northward in p.m., with some overlap. Discovered a White-cheeked Pintail slightly too far to see from circle, as well as Summer Tanager, MODO and AMRO.

Weather: Overcast, intermittent rain, 73° - 77°

Location: Los Altos de Cerro Azul, Republic of Panama

Time At Location: 6:20ayem - 6:30pm

Video at: http://birdpanama.blogspot.com/2010/10/sit-sightings.html It turned out to be a pretty good day to stay home and watch the activity in the yard. We had a strong start (Canada Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, Golden-winged Warbler and Bay-breasted Warbler!), slowed during the morning, and languished throughout the afternoon. Although it could hardly be considered bad, the weather was not cooperative for high bird activity. It started with rain, continued with overcast, clouds, fog, and a few more rain showers through the day. We did have occasional patches of blue sky and several periods consisting of a few minutes of sun. But we had a good time - this is the first full day we have ever stayed home and done nothing but keep an eye on the wildlife activity in the yard. So many chores and projects beckon during the usual day at the casita.

Weather: We had a fine day with favorable weather conditions and a record number of bird species observed. The temperature was 28 degrees

Location: Pondicherry National Wildlife Refuge in Jefferson, NH at Cherry Pond and Tudor Richards Viewing Platform.

Time At Location: Start time 0635 and end time 1840. 12 hours and 5 minutes.

Mammals Seen: 5 Beaver, 1 Muskrat, 1 Red Squirrel. Moose and deer observed on trail in but away from observation site. Visitors: 94 including 2 in stroller. Dogs: 17 including 1 Welsh Springer, 1 Vizsla, 1 blue tick hound, 2 black labs, 4 golden retrievers, 1 golden doodle, 1 Shih Tzu, 1 German shepherd, 1 Australian cattle dog, 1 lab husky mix, 1 beagle, 1 mixed hound, and 1 mixed dachshund-whippet. Remarks: A surprisingly good day with 48 species observed from a 17 foot circle especially after the passage of the cold front. We saw 10 new species this year not observed in the previous three years. No real surprises or rarities. Notable misses were great blue heron, ruffed grouse, belted kingfisher and scoter species. Birds seen outside the circle on the trail that were not counted: Blue-headed vireo, American Kestrel, Gray Catbird, Northern Flicker, Rusty Blackbird and Connecticut Warbler.

Weather: From a low of 36 degrees to a high of 66 degrees, sunny clear and breezy most of the day

Location: Dossin Beach on Hanover Pond - Meriden CT

Time At Location: 12.5 hours was the longest time, combined we put in 38.75 hrs.

Pied billed Grebes for the first time. We watched plenty of fish being caught by Eagles, Osprey, Cormorants, Great Blue Heron and Belted Kingfisher

Setting up at 5:30 a.m. to the sound of a singing Eastern Screech Owl - a great way to start the day.

Weather: Clear skies, sunney with mid-day temperature of 85 degrees F

Location: Eagle Creek Park Ornithology Center, Indianapolis

Time At Location: 6:30am to 6:00pm

A beautiful fall day brought out dozens of birders at Eagle Creek Park's Ornithology Center. The group was hoping to surpass the 56 species seen during the inaugural Big Sit in 2009. Despite a great effort, we fell a few species short. However, as slow as the day was at times, we were elated that we managed 53 species. Highlights included Bald Eagle, both yellowlegs, Sanderling, Baird's Sandpiper, Wilson's Snipe, both kinglets, and Red-breasted Nuthatch. To the delight of the hearty souls that were present all day, the nuthatch began visiting a feeder set up next to the observation deck during the last two hours of the count. Wonderful views of a bird just a few feet away from where the birders sat.

Weather: Beautiful Arizona weather after the Big Storm!

Location: Central Avenue Bridge at the Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Project

Time At Location: 5 hours

Thomas Gaskill: "The number and variety of birds was way down this year. The low water in both the channel and ADOT Wash was probably partly responsible. It was, though, a very good morning for birds of prey. We had three species new for our Big Sit circle: a lovely singing house wren, a beautiful western meadowlark, and a great big, healthy, adult BALD EAGLE! The eagle flew downstream right in front of us at 10 AM. It was amazing!"

Weather: clear skies, calm, 70 degrees

Location: Rydell National Wildlife Refuge

Time At Location: 6:30am- 8:00pm

Weather: Foggy early, then clear and cool ~ 65 degrees

Location: Santee NWR - Wrights Bluff Nature Trail

Time At Location: 7am - 11am

Weather: Sunny and 40 to 60's.

Location: Pine Ridge Nature Trail - N46 17.324' W085 56.640'

Time At Location: 10 hours

Most of our migration of warblers had already passed, there just wasn't a lot of bird action out there. September 10th would have been a lot better for us at this latitude than October 10th.

Chickdees were not shy they flew right past our heads.

Weather: sunny 70s

Location: 2101 S. Crestwood Rd Sioux Falls sd

Time At Location: 5 hrs

Weather: Partly cloudy, AM: 40-50 deg F, PM: 70-80 deg F

Location: Boardwalk at Shaver's Creek Environmental Center

Time At Location: 12:45AM-1:30AM; 6:30AM-12:15PM; 1:30PM-2:15PM; 4:45PM-6:10PM

It was a beautiful day on our boardwalk here at Shaver's Creek! A Project Songbird Workshop was also being held at the Center during the day, so we welcomed 22 Penn State students to our count circle throughout the day to share in the fun. We started the day in the wee hours of 10.10.10 with 1 EASO, 2 Great-horned Owls, and 3 Barred Owls. At dawn we were greeted with an American Woodcock zipping by over our heads, and the chilly morning gave way to a wonderfully birdy, sunny morning. We ended the count with a flock of Waxwings that had theretofore been elusive, bringing our total to 47 species for the day.

Weather: At 6:20 a.m. 26 degrees, clear, 2 m.p h. wind at 1:00 p.m., temp. at 1:00 p.m. was 58 degrees

Location: Nulhegen Branch of Conte W. R. Brunswick, Vermont

Time At Location: 6:20 a.m.- 1:30 p.m.

Great weather though a little chilly at 6:30 a.m. (26) to start the day but warmed upicly by 10:00 a.m. to a high of 58 degrees. Very little wind for morning hours but slight breeze began in early afternoon. The habitat where the count circle was offered few species this time of year as there was no ponds, lakes, marshes, open fields near by. Count circle was decided to be near refuge headquarters this first year in hopes of informing public of what the count was about and for easy access of participants and visitors. Will re-think location on the refuge for next year.

Weather: Heavy rain in the morning breaking up mid-day

Location: Discovery Park, Seattle WA

Time At Location: 7:00 to 17:00

Heavy rain in the morning put a damper on the birding but not our spirits. As the rain let up, the woodland birds started showing themselves. A Pileated Woodpecker flew by a couple of times and Evening Grosbeaks called from the tree tops. When the weather improved in the afternoon, we got looks at a Cooper's Hawk, Bald Eagle and a late Osprey. We were reminded of the fall migration when we saw small groups of Greater White-fronted, Snow, and Cackling Geese. The Cacklers were calling as they flew by to help with the ID. As we were packing up in the late afternoon, a calling Barred Owl gave us a nice end to a great day.

The weather forced us off the bluff over looking the Puget Sound where we were last year. We decided to set up next to the visitor center at Discovery Park. We brought bird study skins along and took turns talking to people about birds and the park. Generous walk up visitors donated over a hundred dollars to the park's plant restoration fund which was the reason we were doing the Big Sit. When we weren't seeing birds, we were talking about birds. We didn't see a lot of birds, but we had a very birdy day.

Weather: Very nice warm day

Location: New Observation Tower

Time At Location: 5:10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Huge numbers of Swallows and Blackbirds. High water in the lake. No Pelicans, Cormorants, Greater White-fronted Geese, or Franklin's Gulls this year. Watched Bald Eagles trying to get Carp that were to large to carry off. Merlin flew close in front of observers at 6:37 p.m.

One observer reported if we quit serving Brats he would no longer be coming! Great Food and Conversation and great FUN as usual.

Weather: Sunny, high around 60, windy at times

Location: Stage Island Pool observation tower, Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, Plum Island MA

Time At Location: 6:30 AM to 6:45 PM

When we first arrived there were numerous flocks of Canada Geese and Double-crested Cormorants cruising overhead; I soon abandoned my hopes of keeping track of bird numbers as well as species. There were also many flocks of birds over the ocean, mostly White-winged Scoter but also several of Brant among other species. Tim Factor and Neil Hayward stopped by the tower and spotted a Eurasian Green-winged Teal among the hundreds of its American cohorts. The Yellow-billed Cuckoo surprised us, but others were seen from numerous locations of coastal Massachusetts and Connecticut the same day, so perhaps a movement of this species was taking place. Ours reappeared (or maybe there were more than one?) many times through the afternoon and evening.

Due to my not having been to the Refuge in many years, I got my pools mixed up when I registered; we actually did our Sit at the Stage Island Pool, not Bill Forward Pool. The local weather forecasters issued a frost warning the night before the Sit in our area, but by the end of our count Jason and I, trying to hang on and tally one more owl species before the refuge closed, were being harassed by mosquitoes... Chris and Jason briefly left the Sit circle to see a Curlew Sandpiper that was being admired by dozens of birders a bit further south on the Island, just out of sight from our circle. A number of other bird species that we missed from within the circle were seen by birders just beyond our visibility, including Black Skimmer, Short-eared Owl, Horned Lark, Northern Shoveler, Chipping Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco. At least 16 other species were reported from other parts of the island that eluded detection from our Sit circle. Maybe next year I should Sit in a less popular birding spot so I won't know as much about what we missed!

Weather: started the morning 53 for temp, and ended the day 77!blue skies.

Location: Clear Lake north side.

Time At Location: 12 hours

very quiet day. A interesting note. Last year it was 23 degrees very windy. This year too warm! temp of 77!

Weather: Sunny, light to moderate West winds. Warm. High to 23 C.

Location: St. Augustines Cemetery, Dundas, ON, Canada

Time At Location: 3.25 hours

Some passerine migration overhead - a few Purple Finches, Pipits, a Horned Lark, some Red-winged Blackbirds. Late in the day a few Kettles of Vultures came into the valley and milled around before going to roost (about 40 birds). Some Red-tailed Hawk migration. A large flock of juncos in the area with a few sparrows and kinglets, etc. mixed in. A Fox Sparrow was a very nice surprise.

Watched from 8-1030 am and 445-530 pm. Species seen in area but not from circle: Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 (flew over circle) Nashville Warbler 1 Hairy Woodpecker 1 warbler sp (orange crowned?) 1

Weather: Perfectly Clear, Cold frosty start to pleasant and warm.

Location: Upton Massachusetts yard

Time At Location: 12am-1:30am: and then 6am-11:59pm

Good hawk movements in the middle of the day. Great morning, most birds seen early save for hawks. The afternoon was quiet and no new birds after 3pm. We were birding from my porch before, during and after my grandfathers 97th birthday. We also used a ladder to see the trees in our front yard, where most of our warblers migrate through. The N. Parula never got high enough in the trees for me to see it from the ladder though.

We also spent time at night looking at Jupitor, it's red spot, storm bands and moons, and Uranus, Neptune, The ring nebula, Orion's Nebula, as well as many other constellations and star clusters. Oddly enough we watched a Goshawk and sharpie with the space telescope. Which inverts them, so you see them upside down.

Weather: Perfect, sunny and warm, temps from 50-70 degrees F., with little or no wind

Location: Our deck in Woodbine, MD

Time At Location: 6:30AM-12:30PM

Besides the birds we saw many late migrating Monarchs , a very large Wheel Bug, and a new (for us) species of biting fly (like a deer fly, sort of).

Best bird was a juvenile Northern Harrier which flew low over the house from west to east in perfect mid-morning light, a bird we don't often see here, especially this low.

Weather: 60 and foggy in am, clear all day and up to 80 in afternoon

Location: Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge

Time At Location: daylight hours -7:00 am til 6:00 pm

Champion Lake was very low leaving many mudflats usually not seen. We had 14 new birds never seen in the third year of this count.

Weather: Sunny warm beautifull

Location: McNally Landing USFWS Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (Winona District)

Time At Location: 5:00AM. to 8:00PM.

There were many many yellow rump and Robins over all it was a quiet observation day no real odd sightings.

The Duck hunters were out in force so activity at this lication was high. The hunters were interested in our activity but would rather go shoot rather then siting to pasivly observe.

Weather: clear/partly cloudy

Location: Cook's Slough Nature Prk

Time At Location: 3:30 saturday to 8:15 Monday

BIG SIT…UVALDE, TX COOK’S SLOUGH Bob Rasa, Uvalde 10/10/10 I set up camp at the wetlands pavilion on Saturday 10/9/10 at 3:48. Lots of butterflies to photo…simply a beautiful day…88 Monarchs recorded flying by…. 85 degrees. Low tonight 63 forecasted. Richard Redmond joined me at 5:50. The whole area swamped with many dragonflies…mostly Common Green Darners. Good evening before the count started: 24 species…Lesser Nighthawk; Wilson’s Snipe; and Eastern Screech Owl among the goodies. Also, we had a Cooper’s Hawk drift in over the Pavilion. During the first early morning hours Common Yellowthroat and American Kestrel up early. Nice morning…early on…59 degrees. Clouds rolled in early with very high humidity making everything feel wet. Tripp Davenport came in and promptly found the Osprey pretty far out…it did come in close near us to photograph. Started to clear at 1040. Afternoon very slow…but pleasant. Two visitors to the site: Ralph Gonzalez, Radiology Director, Uvalde Memorial Hospital and his wife. Last species for the twenty-four hours was recorded at 1949. A Long-billed Thrasher, doing his best Groove-billed Ani call. During the night twenty some Cattle Egrets but were only seen at first light…Pretty close to us  Total Species for the 24 hours was 48.

was a tailgate...gained ten pounds lol fun stuff...thanks for sponsering! br

Weather: Clear, temps 54 degrees to 91 degrees

Location: Talbott, TN

Time At Location: 7 hours

Disappointed in those birds I didn't see. Expected a larger count.

Weather: Clear and cold, 28 degrees at start, warming to 50, calm winds

Location: Independence Lake, Washtenaw County, Michigan

Time At Location: 4AM to 6PM

Weather: Clear skies, temperatures 57-88 F, winds 0-10 mph

Location: Opelika, Alabama

Time At Location: 12 hours, 6:00 AM - 6:00 PM

We enjoyed this is the first Big Sit! from Opelika, Alabama. Beautiful weather but a bit warm in the afternoon.

Weather: sunny, clear, mid 70's, slight breeze

Location: backyard at 11B Village of Stoney Run, Maple Shade, New Jersey

Time At Location: off and on from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM

At least 10 goldfinches at one time, both male and female. Male and female cardinals. Male and female red bellied woodpeckers. At least 10 sparrows on the fence and in the rose hedge with the hawk present and pursueing them into the hedge. Usually sight several other species which were not in evidence during the Big Sit (10/11/10), such as hairy woodpecker, red wing blackbird, brown headed cowbird, brown creeper, heron, canada geese and mallards.

Appearance of the hawk greatly limited our sightings.

Weather: Mid 60's to low 80's. Sunny all day. Pleasant in the morning. South wind increasing through the afternoon, 12-15 mph.

Location: Village Creek Drying Beds, Arlington, Texas.

Time At Location: 4am to 7:30pm

Going into this year’s big sit, we didn’t have high aspirations after Tropical Storm Hermine came through last month and filled up the drying beds with water and sent all the shorebirds south. Because of all the water this year, I did some scouting and tried to justify moving our big sit circle to another part of the beds. After listing the pros and cons of each location, I decided that the circle should again go right about where it’s always been. The Village Creek Drying Beds are birded heavily year round and we knew going in that this year would be an uphill battle. I personally just wanted to get to 72 species, which was our total the very first year we did this. All in all, it was a very good morning of birding and we spent the afternoon doing what birders do best: watching and hoping. Eighty species is nothing to sneeze at.

A few of us from Fort Worth Audubon gathered at 4am as usual to try for owls and rails and again we did well, getting both Sora and Virginia Rail for the 4th year in a row. We also got the usual owls: Barred and Great Horned. Several more people showed up at dawn and as the sky started to lighten the birds started to stir. A nice early surprise was a flock of eight White-faced Ibis that couldn’t find a suitable place to put down. We didn’t expect those this year with the high water. A couple of other early morning surprises were a distant Common Nighthawk and seventeen Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. One of the goals this year was to finally get Green Heron on our cumulative VCDB big sit list. Even though VCDB is a great place for waders, Green Herons seem to vacate the beds a little earlier than the other waders and we miss it every year. I was thrilled to finally spot one perched high in a tree about mid-morning. The highlight of the day was undoubtedly two American Golden-Plovers that flew over our circle and left us somewhat astonished. Unbeknownst to us, the last new species for the day was seen around noon: Orange-crowned Warbler. Soon, the south wind picked up as forecasted and we knew that migration would remain halted. In the early afternoon, the number of participants dwindled and a half dozen of us hunkered down for a long slow sunburn. We hoped in vain for some of the raptors that we usually get like Osprey, Swainson’s Hawk, and Merlin but it was not to be. We still had lots of ducks (twelve species) and thousands of swallows (five species) to pick through and keep us company. All afternoon we looked forward to the early evening, when as in past years everything would go crazy as the birds started coming to roost and then we would add a few more species to the list right before it got dark. Greg Cook said he didn’t think we would get much else new for the rest of the day and strangely, that’s exactly what happened. So we started at 4am and had 80 species by 12:30, and then we birded another seven hours and finished stuck on 80 species. Good grief Charley Amos. I’d like to thank Steve Nutter and the City of Fort Worth water department for their continued support in letting us hang out at the beds after hours in a vain attempt to confound our spouses.