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Weather: Clear, 50-72 degrees, wind 2-7 mph

Location: C. Bickham Dickson Park (aka Red River Education & Research Park), Shreveport, LA

Time At Location: 0630-2000 - Total of 13.5 hours

It was one of those gorgeous early fall days we so often get here in Louisiana. There was no steady all-day rain to keep us hunkered down on the office porch as in the Big Sit of 2004 but neither was there a strong-winded cold front in the forecast to bring waves of migrating raptors and geese as in 2002. The weather seemed almost too good. No rain, no wind, no clouds, nothing but blue skies did we see! Without the stimulus of some unusual weather phenomenon, would this be just another ho-hum birding day? The C. Bickham Dickson Park (CBD) Big Sit record was 70 species in 2003; could we even come close? It would be many hours before we would know the answer to that question when Jerry Bertrand, Charlie Lyon, Dennis Forshee, and I arrived at 6:30 a.m. during what’s known as nautical twilight. Nautical twilight is “the time period when the sun is between 6 and 12 degrees below the horizon at either sunrise or sunset. The horizon is not defined and the outline of objects might be visible without artificial light. Ordinary outdoor activities are not possible at this time without extra illumination.” The key word in the last sentence is “ordinary;” birding in the dark is not considered by most to be an ordinary outdoor activity. In the period before sunrise, illumination comes not through the eyes but through the ears. And so it was that the first birds of the 2005 Big Sit were a pair of Eastern Screech-Owls whinnying in the woods close by. A Black-crowned Night-Heron quawlked (well, that’s the way they spell it in the Birds of North America eField Guide), a pair of Wood Ducks flew over, whoo-eeking as they flew, and a Great Blue Heron squawked or croaked, depending on whom you ask. As light filled the sky, the countdown (countup?) began in earnest, 18 species by 7:00 a.m., 36 species at 7:30 a.m., and 47 species by 8:00 a.m., including four species new to the count, Bank Swallow, Blue Grosbeak, Black-and-white Warbler, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. In harmony with the bluebird skies, Eastern Bluebird, present for all four previous Big Sits, was #32 on this year’s list. As things began to slow down, three new species were added between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. and another three by 10:00 a.m. The latter three caused quite a stir; a new-to-the-count Philadelphia Vireo and Red-eyed Vireo joined a White-eyed Vireo, seen earlier in the day, in plain sight in the thicket just across the road from the circle. And while most of us were still staring at the thicket hoping for another revelation, Amanda Crnkovic spotted a bird flying to the top of a tall tree and added Vermilion Flycatcher to the Big Sit list. This marked the second appearance by a male Vermilion Flycatcher during a CBD Big Sit; the previous sighting occurred in 2002. Rosemary Seidler was the only other person to catch a glimpse of the bird before it disappeared, but later in the day, it returned to spend some time flycatching from one of the light poles in the field. Encouraged by the addition of eight species in the next hour, it looked like a new record might be within our reach as shortly after 11:00 a.m., the total stood at 61 species. The afternoon doldrums set in early though; in the next six hours, we added only four birds to the list, the last a Brown-headed Cowbird (#65) spotted lurking in the field by Kevin Hunter. The cowbird was so well hidden that someone had to sneak up on it out in the field to finally confirm its identification. The raptor extravaganza of prior years never materialized. In fact, with only seven species we experienced the second lowest raptor count in the five-year history of the CBD Big Sit (four raptor species in 2004, ten in 2003, nine in 2002, and eight in 2001). The day was waning when a small flock of eleven Cattle Egrets (#66) and even fewer Little Blue Herons (#67) flew over us enroute to their nighttime abode. On a side note, when a previously coastal species, Tricolored Heron (#12), at 17 total birds for the day, outnumbers each of the other heron and egret species, something’s up. Several Common Nighthawks (#68) soon made their hoped-for appearance, looping and twisting in the darkening sky. John McBride called our attention to a quacking Mallard (#69), a species that had eluded us all day. Seemingly deserted by Great Horned Owl, our dawn and/or dusk mainstay every year except for the rain-soaked debacle of 2004, our quest to break or even tie the record appeared over. Big Sitters slipped away into the night until at 7:15 p.m., only Jim Ingold, Jeff Trahan, Jerry and I remained. Jim, providentially facing in what turned out to be the right direction, became the hero of the day when he suddenly spotted an American Woodcock (#70) fluttering across the field toward the pond. A second woodcock followed before the rest of us could turn around. Jerry and I lingered until 8:00 p.m., surrounded by at least four calling Eastern Screech-Owls, but no other owl species appeared or called. Most likely, they were frightened away by the herd of tiny screech-owls. Hah! We settled for tying the 2003 record. A record 24 Sitters braved the blue skies to participate in this year’s Sit (the previous record was 20 Sitters in 2003). Jeff and Jean Trahan’s grandson, T.J. Schneider, now four and a half, made his perennial Big Sit appearance. My grandson, Alex Menasco, who will be three in December, participating in his second Big Sit, invited me to go birdwatching among the trees on the north side of the field where we found an Eastern Wood-Pewee (#64). A cell phone call to Jerry alerted the circle and several people were able to observe the bird as it flew to another clump of trees.

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Weather: Damp and overcast, temperature averaged 60 degrees

Location: Pirie Platform at the Celery Farm, Allendale, NJ

Time At Location: 12 hours

I always knew Fyke members were a loyal, courageous group, however the Big Sit! just confirmed this for me. On October 9, 2005, after torrential rain on Saturday, October 8, 2005, the Celery Farm was under a foot of water. I feared we might have to cancel the event. My fears were unfounded as the 6:30 a.m. Celery Stalkers team members waded through the foot of water to get to the Pirie Platform. Stiles organized a phone call initiative to advise all to enter via the Greenway entrance as the Franklin Avenue parking area was impassable. By 3 p.m., when my shift started, we only had to contend with some large puddles and a very muddy path to get to the platform. The day was well worth it, we saw a total of 65 species, a record for us. Our previous high count was 61 in 2001 and 2004. Our cumulative total of species seen from 1995 to 2005 is now 99! New birds this year were Bald Eagle, Dowitcher sp., and Glossy Ibis. Speculation has already started as to what the 100th Big Sit! species will be, and, if we will see it in 2006! John commented that “…while wading along the flooded path in the pitch black of the early morning, I was pretty certain I'd be the first one on the platform. It was so dark, and the calf-deep flood water obscured the trail so much in places, that I was a little concerned that my middle-aged brain would send me off the path into the brook. As I felt and sloshed my way along, suddenly I heard an Eastern Screech Owl in the distance. Hot dog! As I moved further down the canal (i.e., the former path), the calling owl got in closer. Yes, it was Stiles: already on the platform, already with 5 species heard (too dark to see), and trying for a Screech.” Jim related this was the “only time I’ve walked down the path and seen a muskrat swimming down the path in front of me.” When I was walking in, there was a fish swimming on the path in front of me! Jody, one of the brave souls on the 6:30 to 9:00 a.m. shift said of the Big Sit!, “It was well worth it! Weird walking through the water in the dark. I'm glad Rob Fanning waited for me. I might have turned back, but probably not seeing all the cars were on Greenway.” She also commented that this was “more fun than any previous Big Sit! Great people! Unusual birds!”, and she indicated she even got a Year Bird, the American Bittern. John also commented on Jody’s Year Bird, “during the first shift (6:30 to 9AM), Jody mentioned casually that she did not yet have an American Bittern for her 2005 list. Only a few minutes later she pointed one out flying in over the marsh. We all got good looks.” Rob related that he was “very pleased with the results and the new record that we set – and glad that the Sit was Sunday and not Saturday!” Highlights for Rob “were the American Bittern, the Glossy Ibis, and seeing four shorebird species, including the Dowitcher sp., which were very probably Long-billed and a first for the Celery Farm.” Rob indicated the big miss was not seeing a Black-crowned Night Heron. --- Carol Flanagan

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Weather: Light Rain and Drizzle

Location: Lenoir Nature Preserve, overlooking the Hudson

Time At Location: 7:30 AM - 2 PM

Despite poor weather we observed some hawks migrating, along with 1607 Blue Jays, 1134 Double-crested Cormorants and 15 Monarchs!

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Its very odd to see Monarchs 100 feet up in the air during a light rain and drizzle.

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Weather: Clear

Location: GNCS,Village: Sindhrot,Dist:Vadodara, Gujarat. India

Time At Location: 13 hrs.

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Weather: Overcast , some rain

Location: Chafinch Park Guilford CT

Time At Location: 7am-7pm

Bad weather and lots of wind made it tough, didn't see birds that I had seen when scouting.

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Weather: Breezy, breezy day with temperatures starting in the high sixties pre-dawn, ranging to mid-eighties in the afternoon

Location: Granite Reef Recreation Area in the Tonto National Forest

Time At Location: 5:30 AM - 3:00 PM

All the television weather forecasters were predicting rain for the 9th, so we came prepared to erect a canopy in that event. But this is Arizona, and it never rains in Arizona. In central Arizona, also, the last day of 100 degree temperatures usually falls between September 30th and October 23rd. Not only did it not rain a drop that day, but we were treated to a breezy day with temperatures starting in the high sixties pre-dawn, and ranging only up to about the mid-eighties when we decided to call it a day at about 3:00 p.m.

The six of us, Adam and Phyllis Martin, Pete Moulton and Cynthia Donald, and Cynthia Grant and I, all showed up pre-dawn, at between 5:30 and 5:40 a.m. We voted to move the circle about 10 feet further east than in past years, so we would have a spot where we could observe the whole reservoir without our view being blocked quite as much by the rapidly growing cattails, and the overhanging branches of the of the old mesquites.

By the time I had set out the bird feeders, and had conducted the official circle enclosing ceremony, the other five had already tallied close to 40 species. By noon we had over 50, and when we knocked off for the day, we had a record 61 species.

The money we raised from donations and pledges looks as if it will be over $1,000. It will be donated to Maricopa Audubon Society to be funneled through it to the campaign to Save the San Pedro River in Southeastern Arizona, a world renowned birding destination, which appears to be drying up, because of excessive water well drilling tied to development in Cochise County.

We were saddened to learn that one of our original Sitters, Ken Howe, had passed away this past May, and we all agreed that future Big Sits! at this location would honor his name and be known as the "Ken Howe Memorial Maricopa Audubon Society Asterisks' Annual Granite Reef Recreation Area Big Sit!" or the KHMMASAAGRRABS", pronounced "kah-mah'-sah-grabs", by anyone foolish enough to attempt to pronounce this acronym

We added five new species to our cumulative 10 year list this year — Black vulture, American kestrel, Vaux’s swift, Rock wren, and Lincoln’s sparrow--bringing our total for the ten years we have been doing the Sit! to 118, and we celebrated our success with pieces of our traditional baclava.

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Weather: Cool A.M. warm P.M. ESE wind 5-15

Location: Swan Lake NWR, Sumner, Missouri

Time At Location: 4:45 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The McNeely family heard a Black Rail calling starting at about 5a.m. for 15-20 minutes. There were 100,000+ swallows in the air early a.m. and many times more at dusk. Many thousands of Blackbirds also. Hundreds of Ducks observed, about 90% Northern Pintails. We also observed a few Cackling Geese but system would not allow adding to checklist.

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Good Birds, good food, and good company! What more could you ask for!

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Weather: Partly Overcast, Partly Sunny, Cool

Location: Back deck of the FOx Island County Park Nature Center, overlooking a small pond surrounded by woods, and a small grassy field

Time At Location: 8:30am-6:15pm

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Weather: Rain am to cloudy to sunny afternoon

Location: Near Oregon City, OR

Time At Location: Total of more than 18 hrs covered.

At this site, anything over 20 species is a good day. We made 24!

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Weather: Clear - 50s most of the day

Location: Lake Monroe Interpretive Center Picnic Area

Time At Location: 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. - 14 hours

The biggest shock of the day was the fact that not a single tufted titmouse was seen on this day. There were also other birds including osprey and peregrine falcon that were seen the two days prior to the BIG SIT, but not on the right day.

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I could add one more species to the list if we could count the "bird in the box." A young injured wild turkey was brought to the Interpretive Center the morning of the count. It was later taken to a local rehabber. The barbecue was great!

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Weather: overcast range of 55-64 degrees

Location: meadow in Talbott

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

Birds we expected to show were noticeably absent. No surprises, no strays.

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Weather: Cold with a misty rain, low clouds, low 48, high 54, no sun at all.

Location: Malabar Farm, Lucas, Ohio

Time At Location: 00:00 till 19:30 First bird heard at 7:00, last bird seen at 14:43.

It was not a very good weather day, we were going for more people than birds, and got 47 species of birds and 17 participants, 4 people from other Audubon groups. We did much better with the bird species than we thought, will most likely be in same spot next year. It seemed everyone had a good time, hope the weather is better next year.

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Weather: Overcast early, cleared around 10 am and was very humid.

Location: Backyard

Time At Location: 24 hours

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Rita managed to complete the count without being stung in the butt by a bee this year.

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Weather: Clear to partly cloudy; temperature 60 F to 80 F; occasional gusts up to 26 mph.

Location: Second table beyond Picnic Area restrooms in Catalina State Park, Arizona.

Time At Location: 5:30 am to 5:55 pm.

Twenty-five birders participated in this year's Big Sit at Catalina State Park, many of them for a large part of the twelve and a half hours the circle was manned. Thanks to everyone's good eyes and ears, we ended up with a total of 50 species for the day, ten more than I had anticipated and a great start for what I hope becomes a tradition at this site. Highlights were many, and evenly sprinkled through the day so that even our 'slow' times were punctuated with exciting birding. Our best species was certainly the first-winter Eastern Phoebe that landed in a mesquite above our heads: my first this fall in Arizona, and probably a first record for Catalina State Park. Raptors were quite good also, with singles of Sharp-shinned Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, and Praire Falcon joining the expected Cooper's and Red-tailed Hawks. Aerial insectivores put on a surprisingly good show. We had at least three Vaux's Swifts feeding around our circle in the morning, and the afternoon saw a flock of 50 or more White-throated Swifts feeding high above the Catalinas; Violet-green was our only common swallow, but we managed to pick out single individuals of Barn, Cliff, and Northern Rough-winged Swallow during the day. Closer to the ground, an Ash-throated Flycatcher dropped in briefly, and a passing American Kestrel early in the morning excited two Cassin's Kingbirds to noisy pursuit. Catalina State Park is probably the easiest place near Tucson to find Crissal Thrasher and Rufous-winged Sparrow, and both species appeared throughout the day, the thrasher only audible from the circle, the sparrow singing and moving through the mesquites in fussy pairs and trios. Other emberizids included many Green-tailed Towhees, Canyon and Abert's Towhees, Brewer's, Lark, Black-throated, a distant singing Rufous-crowned, Lincolns, and White-crowned Sparrows. If any group disappointed, it was warblers, with only Black-throated Gray and Audubon's countable from within our circle. A few birds were recorded outside the circle, and thus not officially counted for the day. A Black-tailed Gnatcatcher first detected on a bathroom break (ours, not the bird's) was almost among that number, but eventually flitted across an opening into view, becoming our 50th and final species for the day at 4:45 pm. Per-species or per-hour donations can be made directly to Tucson Audubon Society (www.tucsonaudubon.org). Thanks again to everyone who dropped in to bird, to encourage, and to chat! Rick Wright Aimophila Adventures The Experience of Birding! www.birdaz.com, 520 544-8643 251 East Rudasill Road Tucson, AZ 85704-6024 USA

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Weather: 45 degrees, Heavy overcast drizzle and rain, wind NNW to 10mph

Location: Chatfield State Park near Littleton, CO garden/riparian

Time At Location: 0700-1300

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Weather: Low 80's 58% humidity, winds 3mph, high clouds.

Location: Hugh Ramsey Nature Park, Harlingen, TX

Time At Location: 6:20 am to 7:30 pm

The bird of the day was a Sora that appeared twice in a small pond behind our observation deck. Early morning flyovers of both Yellow-headed Parrots and Red-crowned Parrots was a thrill for the early-bird watchers.

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Our sit is a public park that has just undergone construction. Our site now has a deck which gave us a 6 ft. height advantage. it sits at the edge of a newly surfaced path. During our sit, we counted 60 adult and 29 children walker/runners and 4 bikers. Even with that activity, we beat last year's count by 9 species.

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Weather: 37-61 degrees,cool & breezy,SE wind(5-10mph),afternnon-sunny with some clouds

Location: Orchard Hill Birding Tower,south of Dassel in south central MN.(Meeker Co.)

Time At Location: 12:00am-3:00am & 6:30am-9:pm (17 1/2 hrs total)

This being our 1st year to participate in the Big Sit and we are all very excited. Listening to the weather and hoping that it will be in our favor, since, it’s been known to have some very cold weather in Minnesota for the month of October. Paul started out at 12:00 a.m. with the air chilly and dressed very warm, he stayed out till 3:00 am. Picking up a few birds. The Fank’s were back out in the tower by 6:30 a.m. with the windy and chilly 37 degrees temperature and waited for their fellow Hutchinson Area Bird Club members and friends to arrive. They gradually showed up dressed for the brisk, cool morning with all there birding attire at hand. There were 14 people (11 members & 3 friends) present most of the day to do some serious birding. By 9:30 a.m. and the temperature at 43 degrees, we had 32 species already, we thought we were doing rather well, consider the cool morning. The birds were being very cooperative by feeding and flying about, so we had good opportunities to observe them. We had very enthusiastic birders who were always listening for any sound and watching for anything flying or moving, so we could all located the bird and ID it. Helpful bird tips and hints were mentioned at times on how to remember identifying them. A total of 51 species were recorded by 14 birders (11 members & 3 friends) who were amazed and excited by such a variety of birds passing through and stopping in. They ranged from our resident Bald Eagle to Accipiters, Buteos, Peregrine Falcon, Northern Harrier, a kettle (17) of Turkey Vultures, Wilson’s snipe and orange-crowned warblers to golden-crowned kinglets, 2 owl species, 2 nuthatch species, 5 woodpecker species and American white pelican to Eastern bluebirds. Everyone enjoyed a delicious brunch, lunch and beverages provided by the birders, plus many comical stories and birding experiences. The temperature warmed up to 61 degrees for us to enjoy observing the birds better. We even had a visit from a rather weird looking elusive scissor-tailed quesal. (Paul’s make-believe elusive hopeful life bird that he hid in a tree) The group had quite a good chuckle after spotting this shy, bashful and funny looking feathered bird. It was the talk of the day. The Sit started out with an Eastern-Screetch owl and towards the end of the evening, we had an exciting moment when we had a Barred owl in the tree that gave the last 5 birders a very good look. We tried quickly in all the excitement to get some pictures, but, with it getting dark and the owl in the tree, we didn’t have any luck .We heard three different calls from the owl that were rather chilling, then it flew. We saw another one fly right behind it. Exciting!! All the birders made the comment of how much fun, exciting, rewarding and memorable this was for the Hutchinson Area Bird Club and friends to be able to do this event. We are all looking forward to next year.

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Paul had read about the Big Sit and was very enthused with the article. He then had this idea about building a tower to observe all the different variety of birds that we get around our yard. (We try to make it birder friendly.) So, we (Paul & Koni) decided to construct a Tower in their orchard in the spring to get ready for The Big Sit and invite their fellow Hutchinson Birding Club members and friends to join them. The Tower was built in a location to over look all types of habitats around their yard, such as, corn fields, wooded lands, open fields, wetland areas, open water, fruit trees, brush and numerous feeding stations which all contributed to a successful day of birding in the tower. We (Pual & Koni) want to give all the birders a BIG Thank-You for their attendance, all their skills and expertise in listening, spotting and ID’ing of the birds and food that people brought. This all made it a successful and memorable day for the 1st Big Sit. See you next year. We would also like to say a special “Thanks” to Ron Erplelding for all his expertise, help and use of his spotting scope.

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Weather: Windy, Partly cloudy, temp in 60s to 70's

Location: NW of McPherson Kansaw

Time At Location: 6 hours

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Weather: Cloudy with occasional drizzle, 55-57 F.

Location: East Rock Park, footbridge over Mill River

Time At Location: 5 hours

Another BIG SIT with undesirable weather conditions.

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None

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Weather: 51 F, misty, light breeze at dawn. Cool and overcast all day.

Location: Indigo Hill Birding Tower, near Whipple in SE Ohio (Washington Co.)

Time At Location: from 12:15 am to 12:45 am and from 5:15 am to 9 pm

This was the year of "what if's" and the year of 9 warbler species. We had an all-time high participant turn-out of 28 people and at 60 species, we just missed breaking last year's record-setting count of 65 species. Among the avian highlights were the aforementioned warblers, plus an adult peregrine falcon, a couple of ospreys, three wren species, and three vireo species, four brown thrushes. Alas we missed out on loads of expected birds, including the symbolic totem bird of The Whipple Bird Club, the red-headed woodpecker. No kestrel, no turkey or grouse, no red-breasted nuthatch, no blackbird of any kind, no Lincoln's sparrow or junco, no Cooper's hawk, no killdeer. If we'd had any sun at all we might have done a bit better. This did no stop us from having ten tons of fun, telling lots of corny and raunchy jokes, and scanning high and low for sought-after species not yet listed. It all reaffirmed my belief that The Big Sit is the most enjoyable birding event of MY year.

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Having new bird enthusiasts visit our sit is always a highlight. We bit them all on the necks, transferring the birding virus to their bloodstreams, turning them into lifellong birders. Welcome Sarak, Matthew, Heather, and Avery! And seeing old birding pals is great, too. We missed Howard Youth and family, but there's always next year. Getting 60 species on a lousy, cloudy day well after the peak of fall migration in SE Ohio, is quite an accomplishment. Big thanks to the superb bird watching skills of our many Indigo Hill Big Sit participants.

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Weather: Temp: 60, cloudy/breezy/mist

Location: Sterling, Connecticut

Time At Location: 12 hours

43 species, not bad considering the weather. I added 3 new species to my over-all Big Sit List.

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Weather: Mostly clear, afternoon wind and partly cloudy high around 50°.

Location: Provo Airport - Utah Lake, Provo UT

Time At Location: 6:00 A.M. - 1:30 P.M. and 5:00 P.M. - 8:00 P.M. 10 ½ hours.

The TV weather reporters had us all believing we would be sitting in the rain and wind all day but to our relief we had beautiful weather. Due to this year’s higher water levels we moved our circle up the road from where we had it the last two years to take advantage of some mudflats which were loaded with shorebirds. The move gave us no practical views of the open lake so we were unable to get the Diving Ducks and Grebes we’ve seen in past years but the number of shorebirds on the mudflats (12) made up for our missing species. We beat our record big sit total of 53 by 2 species. We had a great time and there was plenty of bird activity to keep us entertained. Especially entertaining were the two Merlins which would frequently zoom across the mudflat sending the thousand or so shorebirds up into two swirling flocks, one flock of dowitchers and one flock of peeps.

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Weather: Clear with great visibility, temperatures from 42 to 66, and a slight breeze.

Location: Bush Lupine Point in the Elin Forest, overlooking Morro Bay.

Time At Location: 5:00 am - 8:00 pm

We tallied 40 Species by sunrise and 100 species by 10:10 am. With little landbird migration, it was slow going after #100. We had no unexpected or new species for the count, but we enjoyed great looks at Merlin, Prarie and Peregrine Falcon, as well as Osprey and Eurasion Wigeon. A dozen White-tailed Kites hunted in the fields to our east. Soras and Virginia Rails called off and on for most of the day. Visibility was great all day, which allowed scope ID of species from farther away than usual.

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We are getting this big sit site "wired" - knowing where and when to look and listen for each species such as the snipe which take off before sunrise and the White-throated Swifts which fly in the afternoon about a large rock face on a hill to our east. We had as many as 7 scopes at one time, pointing in all directions from our circle. Around midday Brad said that he was surprised we hadn't yet seen a Cooper's Hawk and one promptly flew right by us - as if on cue. He then said we were overdue for a Blue-winged Warbler (no county records), but it didn't work. Nice try Brad! Counters were reluctant to leave our beautiful count site, overlooking the estuary of Morro Bay and Morro Rock to the north, the sandspit and the ocean to the west, and the hills to our east. To make it even more pleasant, counters brought fresh fruit, baked goods, juice, beer, and champagne for our sunset toast. Mike Stiles came out again after dark, when everyone had left, and found species number 113 - a Barn Owl.

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Weather: 7:00 am - Noon: 57, overcast, winds 10-15mph Noon-7:00pm 72, mostly sunny,

Location: Our house, surrounded by woods, a small creek, across the road from the Holston River.

Time At Location: 7:00 am - 7:00 pm

Slow start. By 10:00 am we thought we would be lucky to get 30 species. Our first bird was a Barred Owl and our last species was Eastern Screech Owl, 2 calling to each other.

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Weather: Cloudy, rained at 3:30 pm. The temperature was 50˚ at 7:30. The high was 65˚

Location: 4099 LaRue-Prospect Rd S, Prospect, OH

Time At Location: 12 hours

Two years ago, the American crows and blue jays were scarce. During the Big Sit this year, they were numerous: Welcome back! Usually I see yellow rumped warblers and Cape May warblers, but not this year. Two days later there were numerous ones in the area.

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Weather: Clear, light wind out of the south

Location: North side of Sebastian Inlet State Park, Brevard Co. Florida

Time At Location: 0630-1100, 1730-1900

There was a very good flight early in the morning, and several migrants in the area. There were a lot of herons and egrets around all day.

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Weather: Sunny with partly cloudy in the afternoon with winds picking up in late afternoon.

Location: Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Cottonwood, Arizona by the old (west) lagoon

Time At Location: 12 hours from 6:30am - 6:30pm

We were disappointed that we didn't see some of our more common species that day. We usually see the Common Black-Hawk there as well.

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Weather: Cool, 59.-70F, windy and overcast most of the day

Location: Yard birds and fly-overs

Time At Location: 6 AM - 8 PM

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Weather: Cold (40%) to moderate (60%'s) partly cloudy

Location: Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, approx. 5 mi. south of Mound City, MO Circle at the Davis Creek Lookout Tower

Time At Location: 12:01 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.

In addition to team members there were 28 visitors to our circle, including an exchange student from Belgium via Prairie Village, KS. He and team members enjoyed comparing birding here and in his country. Out-of-state visitors included those from Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois and Colorado. A number of cars drove by our circle with it's "Big Sit" sign, and by the looks on the passengers' faces you could tell they wondered "Just what IS a "Big Sit"?

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Because a couple of our hardiest team members once again set up camp at 12:01 AM, we continually had people on our site circle from then until 6:00 PM. This couple reported that it was ‘chilly’ at that early hour but not too uncomfortable until about daylight when the wind picked up slightly and the temperature dropped a little. At that time a "camp fire" was built near the circle area where team members and visitors could warm their hands when they became chilled, while still searching the skies for whatever birds winged by.   Three wayward, “pink flamingos” (up from one in 2004, possibly “Pinky” brought friends) showed up and greeted people coming to the circle throughout the day. All three owls (Great Horned, Barred and Screech) began the list and from there we were "off and running". Many of the Big Sit observers and guests were treated to views of Bald Eagles and a Merlin which made several appearances throughout the day. We were pleased to have quite a few visitors to our circle, many with small children. The kids got as much kick out of seeing the big, green bullfrogs as they did watching the Great Blue Herons and the Great Egrets! After considerable observation of three smaller egrets (at quite a distance from the circle) they were identified as two Cattle Egrets, plus one we were unable to identify. Perhaps the birds which received the most attention were the various raptors which were spotted. In addition to the Merlin and eagles there were Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Osprey, Northern Harrier, American Kestrel and (although not a raptor) Turkey Vulture. Because our circle is located on an observation deck at the edge of the marsh land at Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, we do not have the luxury of having a wooded area nearby. Thus the possibility of sighting many woodland birds is minimal. All in all it appeared that all who participated in this year's Big Sit had a great time, and many voiced the opinion “Let’s do it again next year”.

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Weather: AM overcast, foggy at first, gradually clearing, PM clear and hot

Location: Huntington Beach State Park, SC (on the Causeway) N 33 30.631' W 79 04.2.2'

Time At Location: 06:00 - 18:30

Most impressive were the 70+ Tricolored leaving their roost and flying over the causeway in the dimmest light with fog and dawn and the 5 Bald Eagles, two of which landed in a tree not far from the circle near the conclusion of the count. Although it is remarkable how the bird species really are so similar from year to year. This year's count was (like most) distinguished as much by what we didn't see (no ring-billed gulls, no brown pelicans, very few shorebirds, probably due to the exceptionally high tide that lasted most of the daylight hours)as but what we did (first brown-headed nuthatch on one or our Big Sits, large numbers of tricolor herons and anhingas etc) Other critters: Alligators, blue crabs, fiddler crabs and wharf crabs, mullet, green anole, grasshoppers, assorted beetles and millipedes, a few unid'd dragonflies, saltmarsh mosquitoes and the following butterflies: Palamedes Swallowtail, Cloudless Sulphur, Little Yellow, Gulf Fritillary, Common Buckeye, Red spotted Purple, Monarch, Long-tailed Skipper, Least Skipper

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As our circle is actually in the middle of a road on a causeway way crossing between a salt and freshwater marsh the state park folks had beeen kind enough to put up signs advising drivers of our presence and asking them to drive slowly. Naturally we attact a lot of attention and questions such as "What you looking ofr?" or "Seen any alligators?" (Yes, the pond is full of them). This year however the "Question of the Day" (as I sat there at the roadside with my binoculars and spotting scope) was "Are you one of the birdwatchers?"

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Weather: Rainy windy

Location: Grassy Hill

Time At Location: 6.5 hours

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Weather: Upper 40's early AM, warming to 60's by late afternoon. Totally clear skies, slight north wind.

Location: Shore of Indeendence Lake, Washtenaw County, Michigan

Time At Location: 5:30 AM to 5:30 PM

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Weather: Overcast, damp, following roughly 36 hours of torrential rain (6 to 12 inches in the area)

Location: Pittsfield, MA/Canoe Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary (Massachusetts Audubon Society)

Time At Location: 13-1/2 hours (6AM to 7:30PM)

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Torrential rains began late Friday night and continued through the early hopurs of Sunday morning, clearing just in time for The Big Sit! (Hoffmann Bird Club president Gary Soucie, who was serving as Captain Hurley’s assistant, was unable to sit, because he spent Saturday night almost continuously pumping out his basement.) The pond near the circle was flooded (perhaps as a result, the “usual suspects”—wood ducks, black ducks, mallards, great blue heron, American bittern—were absent from the pond) as were the two trails on either side of the pond. Consequently, members could do little scouting and “beating of the bushes” in the proximity of the circle.

Notable among the 36 species identified: an osprey that perched in several trees around the pond for well over an hour; a raven and a Cooper’s hawk that flew overhead; and a white-crowned sparrow that was nudged into view of the circle by Phil Bedient.

Although they don't count, circle participants were delighted to observe and identify the following critters: White-tailed Deer Beaver Woodchuck Meadow Vole Snapping Turtle

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Weather: Partly Cloudy, moderate temperatures with a high of 69 by mid-afternoon, light winds

Location: Black Hill Regional Park, Boyds, Montgomery County, Maryland

Time At Location: 6:15 AM- 5:00 PM

The day of the Big Sit was preceded by 2 days of extreme heavy rains with lots of localized flooding, so we were lucky to get a day of birding in at all. I think some of our new species this year were the result of the weather from the day before. We had a few rather embarassing Big Misses, including Killdeer and Red-tailed Hawk, but our 6 new finds more than made up for our losses. The Peregrine was a special treat, as were a pair of Forster's Terns, one of which stayed on the end of the lake in view all day. Without our scopes we wouldn't have been able to id the warbler, as it was rather farr off and stayed in leafy vegetation. Lots of both swallows were still present, hawking insects over the water.

Anecdotes:

Jennifer Jowdy was a very late arrival, coming in after 1 PM, when birding had slowed and most folks had left. Jim Green and I remained and Jennifer tried desperately to find something to add to the list, but to no avail. When a bird made a loud series of calls from behind us, Jennifer quickly blurted out "Killdeer" and Jim looked puzzled. I turned and called out "Osprey", which it was. I put it on our list,and marked my initials next to it (this was a new thing for our count this year. I started keeping tabs of who saw each new bird, and in what order they were found.It made for a bit of competition between us). Jennifer was mad that I didn't put her name down, as she said she heard it first, but since I identified it, I claimed it. She sulked about it all afternoon. After the count was over, and we had tallied 52 species, she and I were talking in the parking lot when a flock of 6 House Finches flew into a tree nearby. This was a bird we hadn't positively identified all day, because of bad lighting mostly. I said I was going back down the hill to our circle to count it, when Jennifer said she would. I sort of looked at her funny, then it hit me. She wanted to make her "addition" to our tally. So she went back down the hill to the circle, saw the birds in the tree, and we counted them, and I put her initials in blue ink on the list(I had put away my black pen). I gave her my personal "atta girl award" for her effort, and gained a new respect for her too.

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Weather: Overcast with drizzle & rain off-&-on throughout the day - heavy at times.

Location: Milford Point, Milford, CT - Inner (covered) tower due to rain

Time At Location: Patrick (0530-18:45); Frank M. (06:30-11:30); Ken (15:30-18:45)

Patrick, Frank M and later Ken sat this year. Frank Gallo was sick and had to sit this one out at home. The foul weather caused the team to bird from the inner 70ft high tower, connected to the CT Audubon Society's Coastal Center rather than our usual outer (lower) tower out near the point itself. The inner tower is covered but has a somewhat ubstructed view to the south, but landbirds are more prevelent in the trees around the buildings. The outer tower has an unobstructed 360 degree view but less landbirds. Surprisingly, given the weather, 6 new species were added to the cumulative list, bringing the total to 147 species since 1993. Bald Eagle, Virginia Rail, Hudsonian Godwit, Barn Swallow, Winter Wren, and Swainson's Thrush where all new. Lately, we've generally found 2-3 new birds. This year's total of 85 species was our 3rd best score! Traditionally, the outer tower has out perfomed the inner, but this gives pause to reconsider... We're looking forward to next year!

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It's always fun to sit through two tide changes. It gives fresh insite into our perceptions of migration. Most people come to a place and bird briefly, for an hour or two, and go home. At our location, if one arrives when the tide is high, there is often little to be seen in the marsh, giving one the impression that the migration that day is poor. Should one come at low tide, however, good numbers of birds are often feeding on the mudflats and would give quite the opposite impression... The Hudsonian Godwit was only around for a few minutes and could easily have been missed... Oh, that we could sit throughout the season...

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Weather: Partly cloudy, high in low 60's, 10-15 mph north-northwest wind

Location: Our house on Lake Lemon, Unionville, Indiana

Time At Location: 4:30 am to 7:00 pm

Highlights of our 10th annual Big Sit included our best ever total of 76 species, including our first double-digit raptor day (10 species); an imm. GOLDEN EAGLE, a juv. SORA, a first-cycle LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, a GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH calling overhead at dawn with a small group of Swainson's Thrushes, and an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, all first-timers for our count. We added 10 species to our cumulative total, which now stands at 130. Besides the GOLDEN EAGLE, we tallied 5 BALD EAGLES, 2 NO. HARRIERS, 17 SHARP-SH. HAWKS, 7 COOPER'S HAWKS, 3 RED-SH. HAWKS, and 2 MERLINS. We were entertained late in the afternoon by our second (ad.) OSPREY on the day that batted .800 while we were watching, catching fish on 4 out of 5 dive attempts. As always, we enjoyed awesome food and great company.

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Weather: Beautiful Fall Day, clear with 10% cirrus, still air in AM & PM with light breeze in midday

Location: Mesa Day-Use Area, Lake Mendocino, Mendocino Co., California

Time At Location: 05:20-18:46

The predawn period was beautifully still with Sirius reflected in the lake. We had 46 species before the sun rose over the eastern hills. By sunset we had clawed our way up to 72 species. We added five species to the 7-year cumulative list, but missed three that we had seen every previous year. This year the water level of the lake was higher than ever before. Over the last six years we have discovered that the species count is lower when the lake is higher; this year's results confirmed that pattern.

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Weather: 52 degrees, overcast with low clouds, light wind, drizzle turning to rain

Location: Front yard

Time At Location: 6 hours

Most birds were headed northwest to southeast along the front or directly east ahead of the front.

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Our best Big Sit ever with 49 species! Good weather for birds is bad weather for people.

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Weather: Overcast early am drizzle t 60's

Location: West Chetser, Chester County, Pennsylvania

Time At Location: 0600-2000

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Weather: Gentle Night balmy day

Location: Hayward, California, USA

Time At Location: Midnight to 9PM Sunday night

My wife and I are avid feeders and have a completely native backyard in an unincorporated part of the East Bay. Robin is a new birder and I am a lifetime birder. We started at midnight Sunday morning and established a constant presence until we both faded at 10 PM on Sunday night-22 hours of constant observation. We had a ball. The early morning Midnight to dawn was uneventful and without a single sighting. We then had a constant challenge of new and surprising birds including a Peregrine at dawn. Unmistakeable and a first for Robin. Morning began with the Northern Mockingbird, and then a regular progression overhead of gulls headed to the bay I guess. Not sure but we were certain of Western, California and Glaucous Winged. At mid morning Robin got to see the purple finch and house finch together for the first time. This was particularly wonderful to me, because Robin is a dual corneal transplant recipient and this is her first really successful effort at just sitting and enjoying the birds. We are both cancer survivors, Robin for 9 years cancer free and I am on my second year. We were treated to a glorious aerial ballet of white throated swifts dancing continuously from Noon until 4 PM when the air was emptied of birds as the resident Coopers Hawk swooped in, nothing this time. Max and Norton our Mexican Double Yellow Heads were safely tucked away in their flight cage in the back yard. Supper foiled. At dusk, our final moments were rewarded with screech of the Great Horned Owl as the owl gently flew out of our 80' coastal redwood across the yard and over our heads. Unbelievable.

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Weather: 45-80 degrees, clear, mostly calm, hot

Location: On a bluff overlooking Ingram Dam Lake, Kerr County, Texas

Time At Location: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. -- 13 hours

The Second Not-So-Annual Big Sit @ Ingram Dam Lake Dam After an exceptional day in 2002, it came to be that this year there was some anticipation. But the migration was barely noticeable – a few dozen Monarchs, seven raptors of three species, a few swallows. It was clear, calm and hot (despite being only 81 at max – though the neighbor recorded 97 i doubt it was, even if it occasionally felt like it). In place of the numbers and diversity (the 36 species of birds was not much over half of the 2002 total; but a bit higher than my original projected list) though were some special birds – nothing incredible, but still good records. First is the female Ringed Kingfisher that rattled at me all day long. I had already discovered a couple of weeks ago that she was roosting below the dam. I hadn’t seen her there in several days though and thought maybe she’d moved on. She was one of the first birds of the day though and was the last to call at twilight. This bird is rare in Texas oustide of the Rio Grande Valley, but has made a slow northern progression over the past three decades. It’s being reported more and more often from hill country rivers. I’ve long suspected it nests on the Guadalupe but have yet to be able to prove it. Maybe with this one hanging close i’ll finally make that discovery. Second discovery of the day came when i heard a chip note below me along the water below the dam. It was one of those notes that you know you know but can’t quite get a handle on. I didn’t have to puzzle over it long as the maker popped up on a sycamore branch rather quickly. It was a Black Phoebe. Now the Guadalupe with its myriad tributaries is one of those places where you look and think ‘why this is perfect for Black Phoebe’ and yet i’ve only known of three or four specific records in all my time here, and i think the last one i actually saw was well over ten years ago. So this was nice. About the time i got a (distant) camera lens trained on it it flew up the ridge, landing fairly close. I got off three quick pics, but with my meager lens i got no portraits. Nevertheless it’s an identifiable bird in the picture. Then it blew by me, straight up over the ridge and out of site, gone, and i figured that was the last of that record – especially since it was moving away from water. Third, i had a male Pyrrhuloxia at midday. It stayed briefly and then moved off east along the riverbank. This is a species that i’m virtually certain is a permanent resident in the county, but if so it resides on the deepest part of some west county ranches. It’s rarely actually seen in the county except some winters when some move into the edges of town and are seen at feeders. Otherwise it escapes notice. Again i haven’t personally seen one in a few winters. At dusk, as i was scoping a few odonates below the dam i heard that chip again, looked down and there, on the same limb of that sycamore was the Black Phoebe. I guess it may be staying after all. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the one raptor i’ve expected since day one – our resident species, Red–shouldered Hawk – has yet to be found on the count; and our two most common migrants/winter residents, both of which are already present – American Kestrel and Red-tailed Hawk – were missed as well. Funny day in the middle of xeric central Texas when your most common raptor is Osprey (4).

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A complete list of fauna seen, some additional notes, and pictures are posted at: http://milkriver.blogspot.com/2005/10/env-2005-big-sit.html

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Weather: Clear skies, 55*F low, 75*F high

Location: Edge of the Earth Road, Lexington, Cleveland County, Oklahoma

Time At Location: 14 hours

After last year's rain-out, this year dawned clear and chilly but warmed up to the mid-70's by mid-day. We had help this year and accumulated a whopping 45 species, a 200% improvement over last year. Perhaps our best birds were 8-10 Sharp-shinned Hawks (yearbird for team captain) and the Blue-headed Vireo that was a lifer for 2 members of our team and new yardbird for Phil Floyd (we sit at his house).

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Ruth brought homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast, Berlin popped his first beer about 11:00am, and lunch included chili with onions, cheese, and Fritos; potato salad, broccoli salad, tomato&cucumber salad, and Sue Ann's famous homemade chocolate chip cookies. We always say, "we may not see a lot of birds but we eat good!!"

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Weather: dismal - rain, 45 degrees

Location: deck at 4610 Fox Road in Cascade CO

Time At Location: 10 hours

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Weather: 32* 8am broken skies calm/ 52* 2pm blue skies light winds

Location: 2180 Old School Road Indian River MI

Time At Location: 8am - 2pm

Evening Grosbeak - Male, was in birdbath. Very Crisp morning nice autumn day. Robin was an immature at the top of a tree. Canada Geese flew over heading south.

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Weather: Clear 45-73 degrees, wind south 5-15mph. Foggy untill 9:00am

Location: East side of Lake Yahola, Tulsa Oklahoma

Time At Location: 6:00AM-7:30PM

No ducks to speak of,or many migrants.

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Last year it rained all day, this I year had to wear sunscreen. Last year there were two of us.This year it was just me ,so I was happy to beat last years total by three speices.

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Weather: Cloudy with periods of rain. Temps - low 60's

Location: Backyard

Time At Location: 7 hours

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Weather: 50-60, drizzle to light rain, little or no wind

Location: backyard

Time At Location: 4 hours

Another Sit! - Another rainy day! The day was interupted by a call from my sister saying she had 4" of water in her basement since we had about 6" of rain the night before and their sump pump malfunctioned. The two hours I got in during the morning were uneventful. Best