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Weather: 65 degrees, partly cloudy, winds from the west

Location: Lake Erie lakefront,Sims Park, Euclid Ohio

Time At Location: 6:00am- 5:30pm

Large number of golden-crowned kinglets, and turkey vultures were surprising. Open water species were scant though C. Goldeneye, C.Loon, and White-winged Scoter were interesting finds this early. No warbler or other migrant fallouts resulted in a low count this year.

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This is our third Sit. Thanks to the genius who gave us this reason to chuck the chores for a day and spend the hours outside on a beautiful fall day!

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Weather: Partly cloudy, upper 80's, VERY windy from the south

Location: Hornsby Bend Hawkwatch, Austin, TX

Time At Location: 6:40a.m. to 5:00p.m.

Most of our birds were recorded before 10:00a.m. We recorded 8 species after 10:00. The winds out of the south hurt our migratory bird chances. Our best bird of the day was the Yellow-headed Blackbird.

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Weather: Clear, sunny, cool during the night (45 F as low) warmed to near 80 F during the day.

Location: Dyar Pasture Conservation Area, Greene Co. Georgia

Time At Location: 5:30am-4pm

Most of our birds were noted between 5:30am-9am. We were on a dike off of the Oconee River leading into Lake Oconee. The area is flooded for waterfowl when the weather gets cooler, but for now the water is really low. A few fisherman and boaters hit the water, but mostly things were quiet. We also heard coyotes during the night and saw a lot of cows!

Anecdotes:

Since there wasn't much to see at night, our group enjoyed stargazing and using cool instruments like the Sky Scout, Night vision binoculars and a sonic ear. We also had interesting encounters with lots of cows. Our birding area is part of a cow pasture, and many of the cows wandered to where we were. Many a time, we were excited to hear rustling in the bushes to find out it was a herd of cows.

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Weather: Rain rain rain snow rain rain rain

Location: Roof of our house

Time At Location: 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The menu had more entries than the bird list. Our most entertaining observation: an Osprey that flew around the pond (down the hill) and plummeted into the pond to catch a small oval (sun?)fish. The weather -- not Colorado's usual bright blue October day. Most of the birds sneaked around. If The Big Sit! allowed, like Christmas counts, reports for three days before and after, we would increase the species count by 50% and the individuals by 4000%: on Thursday at least 5000 Sandhill Cranes flew by our house!

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Weather: Temp: 34-64, Wind SW 0-5, AM Clear, PM Cloudy and drizzle

Location: Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge, Grefe Tower

Time At Location: 24 hrs!!!

An article written for the Friends of Shiawassee NWR newslatter (Refuge Reporter) by Steve Kahl Shiawassee Refuge participated in its first year of The Big Sit! on October 14, 2007. Bird Watcher’s Digest organizes this global bird count described as "birding's most sedentary event." The object is to find as many bird species as possible during the calendar day from within a 17-foot diameter circle. I was joined throughout the day by refuge volunteers Steve Gasser, Jeff and Quinn Sommer, Bob Grefe, Larry Abraham, Carolyn Szaroletta, and Tom Horbe participated. I planned to spend the entire 24 hour period at the top of the refuge’s Grefe Tower participating in the count. We were shooting for 72 species because the highest Big Sit total in Michigan was 71. Breaking the record would further reinforce the refuge’s stature as one of the best places for birds in the state. We at least hoped to give the Metro Munchers, Washtenaw Wingnuts, Erie Rockers, Chippewa Chirpers, and all the other Michigan teams some competition for state bragging rights. My diary of the memorable day is below. 12AM – The sky was full of stars as the day began. The temperature was a crisp 45° and there was no wind. I sat in the darkness at the top of the tower overlooking thousands of acres of marsh, open water, grassland, forest and cropland. Thousands of Canada geese were honking on our impoundments for the first bird of the day. Only 24 hours to go! 1AM – Six species thus far. I could make out the shapes of several great blue herons as I scanned across our pools. I interpreted the cackling of two ring-necked pheasants as an indication of some sort of roost site squabble. The din of the geese made it difficult to pick out the calls of other waterfowl, but I managed to hear mallards and gadwall. 4AM – Only two species added to the list in the last three hours! I could hear a small flock of northern shovelers close by discussing things. Fortunately, a cooperative pair of eastern screech-owls quickly responded to my whistles. Unfortunately, the weather was poor for songbird migration. I hoped that I would hear the nocturnal flight calls of species like Swainson’s and gray-cheeked thrush. However, the lack of cloud cover and light southwest winds yielded no migration overhead. Still, I soaked in the experience. A single coyote called nearby, which elicited a wild chorus from a pack in the distance. Throughout the night, I could hear three different pairs of great horned owls calling back and forth. A flock of about a dozen Canada geese flew in and landed in the pool in front of me. Where did they come from at this time of night? 7AM – No new species and the temperature had dropped to 34°. Frost began to appear on the tower, but as light started to appear in the sky, bird activity starting picking up. Sandhill cranes started calling – one of my favorite sounds. I heard a vocal group of American wigeon zip past but never saw them. As the sun rose I could see that three bald eagles were perched in trees nearby. Unbeknownst to me they were roosting less than 100 yards away while I stood on the tower. I would have five to ten bald eagles in sight the rest of the day. A flock of shorebirds flew in to a patch of mud near the tower, but veered away at the last second. They never called and I couldn’t see any field marks in the fog and dim light. I think they were pectoral sandpipers, but never got another chance at identifying them. Rats! 9AM – Forty-seven species on the list! I never tire of dawn near the marsh. Flock after flock of Canadas streamed past to feed in nearby fields. Ruby-crowned kinglets and yellow-rumped warblers foraged along the nearby forest edge. A very late sedge wren gave a ragged version of its song from out in the grassland. A few song sparrows picked at seeds and grit on the dike top, but no fancy sparrows in with them. 1PM – Sixty-five species on the list and 72 looks attainable. The sky is clear and the temperature reached 64°. A cooperative indigo bunting flew in and landed next to the tower; another species found beyond its typical departure date. Turkey vultures and red-tailed hawks began rising on thermals along the horizon. 5PM – Only three species added, including a distant Wilson’s snipe that zipped into my field of view as I scanned the marsh. A northern rough-winged swallow revealed itself among a large flock of tree swallows. The sky became overcast and a slow steady drizzle has started. A small flock of American pipits foraged on the mudflat near the tower. 8PM – No new species added. The rain has not yet stopped. Still dusk was beautiful. Six northern harriers came in to roost in the grasslands nearby. I was amazed at seeing thousands upon thousands of ducks leaving the refuge after sunset. It was barely light enough to see them at all. 12AM – The first Shiawassee Refuge Big Sit! is in the books! No new species added since 5PM and the grand total stands at 68. Not enough for a new record, but it is the third highest total found on a Michigan Big Sit! ever. Pretty respectable for the first year! The list of surprise misses for the count was long, including pied-billed grebe, American coot, Cooper's hawk, no falcons, belted kingfisher, northern flicker, and brown-headed cowbird. I heard dark-eyed juncos when I walked down to the restroom, but they never showed around the tower. Larry found a solitary sandpiper around the bend and Bob had turkeys along the road - both out of sight from the tower. There were six brown-headed cowbirds at the headquarters feeder the next morning and I saw a Cooper's hawk when I drove in to work. It was a great day and I am already planning for next year. However, I don't think I'll do 24 hours next year. Maybe 18?

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Weather: Heavy rain, high winds, and fog. 50 degrees

Location: Clear Lake, Clear Lake Iowa

Time At Location: nine hours

This years Big Sit was short on birds due to the fact the weather conditions hampered our viewing.

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Weather: 35-38 F, Winds WNW 5-15 MPH, Overcast, Cloud ceiling 3,500 feet, snow squalls on the Presidential Range.

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

Time At Location: 0600-1600

We had the Pemi Chapter of NH Audubon visit us in the morning and they spent a few hours looking for birds from the platform. We also had many visitors that we enjoyed meeting and we showed them several of the birds we were watching. The bird of the day was the Rusty Blackbird.

Anecdotes:

Two days after the Big Sit I revisited the site and almost immediately picked up 9 new species that we did not see on Sunday. They included Bohemian Waxwing.

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Weather: Sunny, pleasant weather. AM temp. 41, Max temp. 76

Location: Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, Oceanville, NJ

Time At Location: 14 hours

Strong morning hours, slowing down in mid-afternoon with a late pick-up. Fantastic sunrise and sunset. Also seen on break, but not within circle were Eastern Phoebe and Wild Turkey. Many folks stopped briefly to review posted results. Last bird of the day was a Bald eagle. First bird was Great horned owl. All involved are already planning for next year. Ed Bristow

Anecdotes:

Our Bald eagle was expected during the day as there good thermals inviting raptors to soar. At 5:55 PM, I announced that the 6:00 PM eagle should be arriving momentarily. However, traffic was backed up as usual, and actual arrival time was 6:30 PM.

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Weather: Beautiful, sunny and 75 degrees

Location: Fresno California Woodward Park

Time At Location: 6:30am to 5:30pm

We had a great time. Everyone saw at least one lifer. Mine was a Black-throated Gray Warbler. A friends was a Green Heron and a Brown Creeper. Most action happened in the early morning as usual but the Warblers, Bushtits and Kinglets picked up teir activity around lunchtime. There wa a cheater though, he flew over in a Hot Air Balloon trying to get a leg up on us seeing the birds from the sky. All those in the park took notice of our circle and some started to report their bird sightings to us in other parts of the park, we kindly said thank you and invited them on future walks. Again we had a great time, Thank You! Michael Ruffino

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Weather: morning frost, breezy with a mix of sun and clouds

Location: 179 Main Street, Sterling CT

Time At Location: 12 hours

Tied previous Big Sit high of 47 species. Northern Harrier was new for the yard (#154), and new for the Sit (#79).

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Weather: temp H85/L64, wind 30mph, very humid, evening showers

Location: Aransas NWR 'tower'

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

The 'top of the tower' was a very good choice and participants were able to observe over a great area(bay, marshland, trees, skyline). Due to the consistent breezy condition we were unable to hear any birds underneath the tower. The tide was very high decreasing the shorebird observations. I think our most memorable sighting was the 19 Magnificent Frigatebirds soaring right overhead slowly and hanging like giant kites in the sky.

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Location: Tonto National Forest beside Granite Reef Reservoir

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Anecdotes:

All six of us (Herb Fibel, Sit! site leader; Pete Moulton, Cynthia Donald, Adam and Phyllis Martin, and Deb Sparrow) were at the site and up and running, when the predawn hours informed us that this was to be a near perfect day weatherwise. An earlier scouting trip revealed to us that the area was particularly "birdy" this fall, even after what had been a record hot and dry summer.

By daylight we had about 20 species already noted, even though the cattails growing at the water's edge now obscured our view of the upper portion of the reservoir. After a hearty lunch and a nap, no one wanted the added calories of the traditional piece of Baclava. By 2:00 p.m. we had tied our previous record of 61 species (no Turkey Vultures), but we hungered to break the record by at least one and if possible, two, more species sightings. That happenstance came to pass when an Inca Dove was spotted nearby in the mesquite bosque (#62). As we were loading up our stuff in preparation to calling it a day, Herb spotted a Northern Harrier (#63) coming around the side of Red Mountain, being harassed by a handful of Red-winged Blackbirds.

How then did we end up with 67 for the day, you ask? A review of our list that evening revealed that we had neglected to write down four additional species sighted during our Sit!

New species sighted this year were Greater Roadrunner, Prairie Falcon and Savannah Sparrow, bringing our twelve year total up to 124. Seen for only the second time in twelve years were: Peregrine Falcon, Vaux's Swift, White-throated Swift, Gilded Flicker, and Tree Swallow

We were able to raise over $1,300 for Maricopa Audubon Society for its environmental advocacy and conservation education programs.

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Weather: Frosty morning!!! Later mild, calm and sunny. Even later windy and cloudy.

Location: Segerstads fyr, Island Öland off SE Sweden. Lighthous in lighthouse garden by the Baltic sea.

Time At Location: 06–19

Five White-tailed Eagles! Peregrine chasing Merlin! Pomarine Skua! Grey Wagtail! Parrot Crossbill! And 82 more...

Anecdotes:

See www.segerstadsfyr.se and click on "Stor dagbok". Full info and loads of pic's! In English. Just scroll down from the latest info in Swedish to 14.10 2007. Many rarities! White-tailed Eagle caught a Brent Goose just off the lighthouse! Later the police had to come to get illegal hunters. Sic.

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Weather: Clear skies, temperature 52-86 F, winds ESE 0-10 mph

Location: Wheeler NWR near Decatur, Alabama - White Springs Dike

Time At Location: 13 hours, 5:00 am - 6:00 pm

A beautiful, sunny day, though a bit warm in the afternoon. Moderate thrush migration during the early morning hours (before sunrise) with three thrush species recorded by flight calls. Surprised by an American Woodcock's twittering before sunrise. Impressive Blue Jay migration throughout the day with over 250 recorded streaming south. The most memorable events were the intense bird activity before and one hour after sunrise and the flock of 60 American White Pelicans soaring leisurely above the site for over 30 minutes, as they took advantage of the first thermal of the morning. Wetlands adjacent to the site were significantly reduced in size due to the continuing extreme drought. Only five new species recorded after noon.

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Weather: Temp in the 70's. Skies overcast (80-100% cloud cover). Brief light rain

Location: Sanford FL

Time At Location: Dawn - noon

Although we enjoyed pleasant temperatures during our morning count, the sun did not shine long enough for bugs to become active and attract any of the warblers we know are in the area. It was not a great birding moring, but we sure did enjoy the company, coffee, quiche, and cake.

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In addition birds, our morning count included: 5- female deer 1- giant swallowtail 1- tiger swallowtail 1- gulf fritillary 2- zebra longwing 1- cloudless sulphur

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Weather: Overcast with temperature in upper 70s

Location: Geneva FL

Time At Location: 7:00am - 12:00 pm

In addition to competing with other Big Sit Teams, we were in competition with another Seminole Audubon Society team (Seminole Stilt-porch Sitters). The pressure was crushing. We creamed them with number of individuals (216 to their 81), but they beat us by a feather on the number of species (26 to our 25). We are already planning (the menu) for next year when we are confident the Long Shadow Birder will fly ahead of those porch sitters.

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Weather: Cold, windy, alternating between overcast and partly sunny

Location: Brownfield Bog (near parking area), Brownfield, ME

Time At Location: 4:45AM - 7:00PM

Some of our big misses included a lack of waterfowl (including a Ring-necked Duck that was there last week!), Northern Harrier, Belted Kingfisher, and any Nuthatch. Our highlight was most likely the Northern Pintail female that winged in with some mallards and black ducks to become species number 31. Lots and lots of Kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warblers. Two Eastern Phoebes kept us company all day as they hawked insects about 50 feet from us.

Anecdotes:

Three birders undertook a cold, blustery Big Sit in the Brownfield Bog on Sunday. I kicked it off at 4:45AM decked in many layers and a blanket, straining my ears in the dark hoping for a return of the Great Horned Owl I had heard the previous evening while setting up the 17-ft. circle. At 5:10AM, perhaps starting to nod off a bit in my Adirondack chair, I was jolted by a beaver tail-slap not 20 feet from where I was seated. Later I could hear him out in a clump of alder chewing on what I can only imagine was some tasty cambium. At 5:30 the wind that would be a companion most of the day kicked up, making owling a bit more difficult. Finally at 5:53AM the Great Horned Owl began asking me if I also was awake (barely). The call was initially so soft that I had to step out of the circle a little ways to make sure it wasn’t a distant dog. Within a few minutes though, he had moved closer. From then until 9:30, I rarely went 15 minutes without adding another species. By 12:30PM we would have 32 species, by 7PM, 33. I was thankfully accompanied in the circle for most of the daylight hours by Tony Federer and Jeremy Bean. This Big Sit thing is much more fun as a social enterprise. On the mammal front, we had beaver, red squirrel, chipmunk, and gray squirrel. And shortly after dawn a short-tailed weasel ran thorough the circle about two feet in front of my toes. A great event! Next year we may even put a second circle somewhere else in the bog to see how the diversity compares.

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Weather: Clear skies, upper 70's, breezy, beautiful!

Location: Tellico Dam Reecreation Area

Time At Location: 6:00

After today, the search for the perfect Big Sit! circle continues...right next to my chosen Big Sit! circle spot, a bass tournament and a 5K race was taking place....Rats! Too bad we were not counting curse words. Nonetheless, we tallied 37 species, the hightlight being witness to the red-breasted nuthatch irruption we have going on here. Thanks to all of by birding friends for stopping by, helping me out, and keeping me company.

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Weather: Clear, cool 60's to 70's, NW light, no precip

Location: Pea Island NWR, Observation tower at SW corner of North Pond

Time At Location: 6:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

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Weather: Morning low of 50; Mid-day high of 71; Moderate (~5 mph) north wind most of the day; High blue sky, bright sun with few clouds

Location: Alligator River NWR, Manteo, North Carolina

Time At Location: 6:00 AM - 6:45 PM

This Sunday was perhaps the best weather day for birding in eastern North Carolina since early summer. The north-facing observation platform (back of a platform truck) was positioned at the ecotone between a mixed species forest and wildlife-managed fields expanding in the north-west-east directions as far as one could observe with a spotting scope. As expected, the most notable observations were the owls (Great Horned, Barred, and Eastern Screech) and raptors (Northern Harrier, Red-tailed, American Kestrel, Cooper's, Red-shouldered, and Sharped-shinned). Future Big Sits at Alligator River NWR should document more species as the absence of rain this summer (deficit > 14 inches) has left many fields and drainage ditches well below normal water levels. The count of 40 species from a fixed location at Alligator River NWR is consistent with expectations.

Anecdotes:

Perhaps the most notable is the observation of (i) eight black bears, three of which were within 60 feet of the observation platform and (ii) one eastern bobcat.

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Weather: Temps. 40's and 50's Cldy. and Fog all day. Scattered rain AM, steady light rain until 4 PM Winds were light from the east

Location: Horicon Marsh, Horicon WI Observation Deck located on the southeast corner of the Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area.

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

Well, bad weather was bound to happen during one of our “Big Sits” and this was the year. What began as a cool, foggy and cloudy morning, turned into a steady rain and fog for most of the day. It was the fog that I believe held our count numbers down, as it made long range viewing impossible and was not conductive to identifying birds in flight even at mid-range distances. Temperatures started in the 40’s and never got out of the 50’s. The few early rising “Old Coots”, (count started at 4 AM) were greeted by the calls of our resident Screech and Great Horned Owls. These were the only two species that were not heard or seen during the daylight hours. With that being known, I heard a few comments from our “sleepy heads” about sleep being more important that birding during the dark. However for those diehard birders it was a fun time and without them, there would have been no owls added to our bird list. The Horicon Marsh Bird Club sponsors our Big Sit and with each passing year, their participation grows. Even with the wet weather we hit an all time high with the number of birders who helped during the day. It was a good thing that they staggered their participation because if they had all been there at one time; we might not have had enough room within the circle, at least not enough for all to look through their binoculars at the same time. Our Bird Club President, Jeff Bahls treated our hungry clan of “Coots” to a warm breakfast right off the cook stove. I think I heard the words, bacon, eggs and pancakes being called out and for an hour or so we had missing birders every now and then who, when they returned, literally had “egg on their face”. With a constant flow of donuts, cookies, coffee and soda, no one went hungry during the count. I know the Big Sit Captain had an easy time reaching his calorie intake for the day. A big thanks goes out to those who provided the food, snacks and drinks. As an added attraction or maybe distraction, our dedicated Green Bay Packer Fans could watch the game with one eye while watching for “new” birds with the other. More than once a shout or groan about the game was misinterpreted and had more than one birder looking in the direction of the TV in hopes of seeing what they hoped was a new bird species for the day. Our Big Sit location was chosen for not only for its advantageous view of Horicon Marsh but also for ease of access, adequate parking and public restrooms. With that said we always get a steady stream of “Non-Old Coots” who are out and about enjoying the Fall Season of great colors and migrating Canada Geese, Sandhill Cranes and the like. Most if not all are amazed when they look at the list of birds that have so far been seen and with that, conversations are started with most. We explain the who, what and why of doing this Big Sit and usually end up giving them directions to the many other local “hot spots” for bird watching. We even have repeat customers so to speak, who know that the Big Sit is taking place and just want to find out what we have seen and how it compares to other years. Many want to tell us what they have seen so far in their day’s travel. We have increased our Bird Club membership by a few families because of this public exposure at the peak the tourist season for Horicon Marsh. Our total of 62 bird species was a little below our average, but it included three new Big Sit birds. Sedge Wren, Chipping Sparrow and Ruby-crowned Kinglet were added to the list, increasing our 5-year total to 95 species. Not bad considering that the Big Sit date is well past our major passerine migration and on the early side of the waterfowl migration. I know the “Old Coots” will be one year older in 2008, but plans have already been talked about and I think I even heard of a faction of birders who might break away to start a new Big Sit count in hopes of unseating us as the Number One count circle (we are the only count) on Horicon Marsh. All I can say is: Do you feel lucky? and if so Go ahead make my day. A great big Thank You goes out to all the “Old Coots” who took time out from their busy schedules to participate in this year’s “Big Sit”.

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Weather: beautiful!

Location: Huntington Beach State Park, S.C.

Time At Location: 12 hrs (6 am - 6 pm)

We had beautiful weather all day (unlike last year when it poured rain most of the time) and racked up a total count of 50 species from our circle on the causeway at Huntington Beach State Park. Jack Peachey opened the count at approximately 6:30 in the morning and quickly recorded his first bird - a black crowned night heron followed closely by clapper rails and as the sun came up the first of several bald eagles seen that day. Jack recorded a total of 43 species before I arrived for the afternoon shift at 12:30. During the afternoon most of the same birds were seen again and 7 new species added: culminating with ring-billed gulls at 4:30 PM. No further new birds were seen until we packed in in at about 6 PM.

Anecdotes:

Again this year the most spectacular birds seen were the 70-odd wood storks that spent most of the day roosting in tree nearly above our heads, prompting one person who dropped by to see what we were doing to ask “who is watching who?”

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Weather: The weather was beautiful--clear and sunny-temp 50-65F

Location: my back deck of the house-large wooded backyard with feeders

Time At Location: started at 4:00am-no owls!! off and on until 7:00pm

This was my first time--it was great fun but next time I will get a group together and relocate where there are more species of birds. Count me in for next year.

Anecdotes:

Although my species number was lower than I anticipated, seeing a yellow billed cucko and a hermit thrush was well worth the time spent.

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Weather: 50s-70s, clear skies, bright day

Location: Patuxent Research Refuge, Laurel, MD, overlooking field, with woods on one side and ponds in the distance

Time At Location: 7:30am to 2:30pm

We placed this circle within a few hundred yards of the other circle (the “Herons”) at the Patuxent Research Refuge. Ours was in a “birdier” location, but we didn’t have many more species than the Visitor Center circle. Fortunately, we had a number of parents with their kids visit us, sometimes people who were “sent” to us by the participants at the other circle. Many of these visiting kids already knew a lot about birds!

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Weather: Clear skies. Cool morning (51); sunny & mid-70s by late afternoon

Location: Tanglewood Park, Clemmons, NC - Wildlife Viewing Platform

Time At Location: 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The severe drought turned our marsh viewing area into more of an overgrown lawn. Considering that several "normal" species were out of the question (Wood Ducks and Red-winged Blackbirds, for example)we had a good number of species.

Anecdotes:

The platform borders a trail that many people use for walking and biking. We had several folks stop and spend quite a while talking about birds and nature in general, including David & Candis who are birders from New York state; and Jamie who later brought his little dog by to meet us. So, it was a nice "outreach" day even if we didn't reach the hoped-for goal of breaking 40 species.

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Weather: 50s-70s, clear skies, bright day

Location: Patuxent Research Refuge, Laurel, MD, behind Visitors Center, on patio, overlooking pond, with woods on opposite side

Time At Location: 8:00am to 2:00pm

This “circle” didn’t have the best view, since it was at the edge of the Visitors Center, with part of our view obscured by the building at our back. But the patio had a fine view of feeders and a nearby pond. Being by the Visitor Center also provided access to curious visitors, just passing through. We spoke to as many of these folks as possible. We were within a few hundred yards of the other circle (the “Chickadees”) at the Patuxent Research Refuge, and we had a number of our participants change position. (We also directed visitors to the other circle for a different experience.) Visiting parents came along with their kids, and some of the kids could already ID the birds at a distance! Thanks must be extended to the gracious refuge staff for their help!

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Weather: 55 deg - 88 deg, clear, sunny, calm slight breeze to 5 mph

Location: Kino Springs, Nogales, AZ

Time At Location: 05:00 am to 17:30 pm

What seemed to start out as a normal, very birdy sit; was interrupted during peak time of day for birding(9am)when two Border Patrol vehicles came up the road fast and with a mission, stopping at the gravel creek wash across the pond from where I sat. Four guys jumped out of the cars and started running down the wash. An added bonus for me, as they kicked up many birds from hiding, I was able to add the Greater Roadrunner, Inca Dove, and Northern Mockingbird to my list. The guys caught one illegal immigrant or drug runner (not sure which) and continued chasing three others about the hillsides. I thought they were coming back in my direction. I didn't want to be on the receiving end of bandits running from guys with AK-47's, so I temporarilly broke down the circle grabbing my scope and headed for my vehicle. About 20 minutes later when the activity ceased, I went back to my circle and resumed the count. For many people who do not live along the Mexican border, this type of event may seem rather exciting and scary. I have lived and birded the Arizona-Mexican border for many years now. It is a reality which the birding community learns to adapt to and be cautious of. A day in the life of an Arizona birder. Just plan ahead and always have an exit strategy.

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Weather: Weather Conditions were sunny with marginal cloud cover, 51-70 degrees

Location: John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge

Time At Location: The circle was occupied form 5:30am till 9:00pm

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We listened to the Eagles game while we sat and they won!

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Weather: Cloudy, Rain, Wind Temp in the 50s

Location: DeSoto Lake Overlook on the Missouri Meander Trail

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

Weather challenged our observers as it was raining and windy throughout the day. We observed 34 species and overall had a good day despite the weather. This was the first BIG SIT for DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge. We will plan on participating in the future.

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Weather: Cloudy / Mild

Location: Cullman, Alabama

Time At Location: 6.5 HRS

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Weather: Most clear and warm. Some clouds in the afternoon. 43 degrees F at dawn. Up to 70F in afternoon

Location: Birding Tower at Indigo Hill, Whipple, OH

Time At Location: 18.5 hours

We tied our all-time high Big Sit count of 65 species. Great day of birding. Low on warblers, as usual. Some surprises, including a calling northern saw-whet owl. Some surprising misses, including osprey, killdeer, chimney swift, eastern phoebe.

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Good food including pumpkin bread and goat cheese, Texcinnati chili and beef stew, apple pie, apple cake, and the traditional junk foods ending in the letters 'os.' A swamp sparrow was heard chipping but the identity of the chipper was not known until the day after the Sit.

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Weather: Mild pre-dawn, cooler and foggy in morning, warming and sunny in afternoon, wind picked up in late afternoon

Location: Bayfront Park, Menlo Park, San Mateo County, San Francisco

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

Best bird of the day was the Vesper Sparrow, that appeared when Jeff and I were alone on the hill. We saw it coming north over the adjacent valley, and were surprised when it landed in a small rock cairn a few yards from us. We presumed it would be a Savannah Sparrow, but as it posed for us, we realized we had something rare. The pictures will attest we had a Vesper Sparrow - only the second ever recorded for this park, and the first in a decade. Only a half dozen or fewer are seen every year in the county. The Golden Eagle was also an excellent county bird. The Lesser Yellowlegs obligingly foraged alongside a Greater Yellowlegs. The Burrowing Owl is a specialty of the park, but they generally only winter here. Rich, who is a major advocate for this park in local birding circles, and I were surprised to here the small rasping call of the Owl just before first light. Rich was unable to locate the bird at a burrow in daylight. One bird that the system would not let us record was the Cackling Goose we saw at the front of a large flock of Canada Geese.

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We were often joined by Ray, the friendly birding ranger. He brought his signed copy of Roger Tory Peterson's Western guide. A frequent park jogger was worried when she saw us looking over the salt ponds with our scopes: she feared we were from some development corporation! We reassured her that we, too, want this park to remain forever open space! The chair of the Friends of the Park, Chris MacIntosh, also a fine birder, joined us at various times. The group consumed all the snack food, but left the raisins untouched! The goal of having the Big SIT! at this location was to bring greater awareness to birders locally and throughout the state, about the birding wonders of this park. We think this was accomplished admirably. Easy misses included Marbled Godwit and Willet, Brown-headed Cowbird, California Towhee, American Wigeon, and Black-crowned Night-heron.

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Weather: 40-53F, <10 mph winds, mostly cloudy

Location: Arrowwood NWR near Pingree and Kensal, ND.

Time At Location: 7 am to 7:45 pm

Most activity before 11am. No big surprises, but lots of misses. Most interesting was the Merlin that made an appearance at least 3 times. I did get an opportunity to work on my fall songs and calls.

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Weather: Sunny T 38-63

Location: West Chester, PA

Time At Location: 0630-1830

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Weather: Sunny, breezy, 60's

Location: Small lot, near small stand of trees, near shoreline.

Time At Location: 9 hours

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Weather: Gorgeous! Beautiful Fall day!

Location: Big Oak Tree State Park, MO

Time At Location: 00:00 to 19:30

Coyotes singing at night! Butterflies observed: Common Checkered-Skipper, Fiery Skipper, Cloudless Sulphur, Little Yellow, Sleepy Orange, Pearl Crescent, Question Mark, Mourning Cloak, Red Admiral, Common Buckeye, and Monarch Dragonflies observed: Halloween Pennant (1).

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Our sit site at Big Oak Tree State Park was chosen to allow views of a small, manmade lake, an oak hickory woodland, and a deep cypress swamp. The site was situated on top of the lake’s levee, near early sucessional trees on the southeastern portion of Big Oak Lake. In this position, the sun remained at our backs for views of the lake, which turned out to be advantageous. The small team was named ‘Mosquito Fodder,’ a rather apt choice considering the thriving mosquito community which surrounded us. Setting up the circle in the dark, just before midnight, promised great listening opportunities. At stroke of midnight, however, all grew quiet. Twenty minutes later, a Great Blue Heron squawk. By 1:40 am, we chalked up two birds: the heron and a sole, distant barred owl. When the birding is that slow, it is hard to stay awake. By sunrise, Chris Barrigar joined the circle. Immediately, the list of birds began to grow. We were treated in the early morning hours to excellent views of 2 Cooper’s Hawks, a Sharp-shinned Hawk, and 2 Pileated Woodpeckers interacted among the aging bald cypress trees in the center of Big Oak Lake. Chris digiscoped one of the Cooper’s hawks and a Sharp-shinned Hawk resting on the same branch! Local birder Bill Brennan arrived for the mid-day lull in birding. Unusual visitors to the park, a group of Black Vultures circled the lake in the early afternoon. The afternoon crew punched in waited for the evening bird activity. By 4 pm, a Merlin came in to hunt over the lake. He perched for several minutes in a cypress tree and patrolled the mudflats. Shortly after sunset, we successfully called in both a Great Horned and an Eastern Screech Owl. All of the resident owls of the park had been heard, and subsequently checked off the list. What next? What bird could possibly arrive that we hadn’t seen yet. Always the chance for a rare sighting of a yellow-crowned night heron, we realized that since they had not been recorded as every occurring at the park, the answer to the question was: “go home.” In the course of 20 hours with 7 participants, lots of cool birds were seen and heard. Next year promises to be even better. We hope to see and sit with you next year!

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Weather: cloudy, 60's

Location: Pokagon State Park, northeast Indiana

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

With the help of the Pokagon naturalist staff, we logged the birds seen from the observation window at the Nature Center.

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Weather: Cloudy, a few showers, cold morning

Location: Birds at Vermont Museum, Huntington, Vermont

Time At Location: 6am - 6pm

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Weather: Mostly sunny; 50-60°F

Location: Seltzer Park, Seaside, OR

Time At Location: 6 hours (07:00 to 13:00)

Mammal List: Harbor Seal Harbor Porpoise Racoon Townsend's Chipmunk

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Weather: Clear, 50 to 57 degrees F, Wind WNW to NW 0-12 mph, rising through day.

Location: West end of Tubby Cove Boardwalk, Eastern Neck NWR, Rock Hall, Kent County, MD

Time At Location: 6:40 AM to 2:00 PM

Although the weather was beautiful, if a little breezy, a profound lack of songbirds or a serious hawk flight consigned this year's Big Sit at Eastern Neck NWR to mediocrity as we tallied 56 species (the average tally is now 57.5 for six years). It was a pleasant mediocrity nonetheless. Our best bird was a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE that spent the early morning with Canada Geese in Calfpasture Cove to our south. It left for the fields at Ingleside at 8:05 AM and was not seen again, although it could have hidden amongst the returning Canadas as the light went against us. We also had two CACKLING GEESE in the flock, a gander and a goose. Other good birds were Wilson's Snipe (a quick flyby), 5 Northern Rough-winged Swallows, 2 Gadwall, 2 American Wigeon, and a very confiding Red-breasted Nuthatch (reflecting the big flight here on the Eastern Shore this fall). Although they are "routine" on our Big Sits it was also a pleasure to have the regular presence through the day of at least 16 Bald Eagles, 4 Northern Harriers (hunting close to the platform), 8 Royal Terns, and 16 Caspian Terns. Thanks to everyone who came by to help count, to Cindy Heffley from the Refuge who helped publicize the event, and to all of the visitors who dropped by to ask what the heck we were up to.

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Weather: Clear and slight breeze at 6 am start, but low fog came in at 10:30 am, and in the afternoon it became a higher fog

Location: Elfin Forest,Los Osos, California

Time At Location: 6:00 am - 7:00 pm

We had 111 species by 10:30 am and it seemed that we were well on the way to beating our prior best count of 122 species. And then the fog bank (seen offshore earlier) rolled in. We could no longer see the bay below our overlook. The birds in the coastal scrub at our level were quiet and much less active. The birding ground to a halt. An hour or two went by with no new species. The day had started off beautifully - with a slight offshore breeze and clear skies. The incoming tide pushed the shorebirds by our vantage point, as the morning became light enough to clearly see them in our arsenal of spotting scopes. Rails were calling on the near shore. Thrashers and sparrows were calling around us from the bush lupine and low oaks. Birds road the warming air overhead. A swallow took our binoculared eyes into a mixed flock of swallows and swifts. A Snow Goose lumbered by the quick little swallows and surveyed the bay before heading north to the harbor mouth where an Osprey flapped into view. We were racking up the species, including a Pectoral Sandpiper and Red Knots among the shore birds and ducks in the mudflats and channels of water in the rising tide. A careful scoping of the ducks yielded a rufous morph female Eurasian Wigeon and a Lesser Scaup among the numerous American Wigeon, pintail, and Green-winged Teal. Clouds of synchronized shorebirds and more scattered flocks of ducks gave away the hunting Peregrines. At least 3 took turns terrorizing their potential prey. Despite the name Big Sit we were all on our feet, scopes facing all directions so we would not miss anything from the different habitats. We were even making an effort to find birds we normally shunned, like cowbirds, starlings, House Sparrows, and collared-doves (to add them to our count). A Black-throated Gray Warbler flew low over our heads; a new bird for the count. As quickly as the species appeared around us, they vanished into the gathering mist. After noon the fog did rise off the ground to become a high overcast, but the overhead movement of passerines did not resume and we went hours with no new birds for the day. Fortunately we had the good company of most of the county's best birders along with crackers and couscous, Danish pastries, organic apples, homemade peanut butter cookies and other good food and drink brought by many of the participants. Just as counters were feeling useless, a Golden Eagle soared by in the mid afternoon. Two hours later, a Glaucous-winged Gull stopped briefly to visit the other gulls in the estuary. Next, a Sharp-shinned Hawk blasted by; looking for the same birds we were missing. A Hermit Thrush called later in the afternoon. The counted ended at 115 species; a respectable number for our count, but we had to wonder what total we would have had if the fog had stayed offshore.

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During one of the dullest stretches of our count, one of the participants exclaimed that we needed an eagle to fly by to liven thing up a bit. As if on cue, a Golden Eagle flew right overhead. Unfortunately, subsequent wishes for Blue-winged Warblers and other rarities were not likewise answered. We had a non-human partner in our count as a coyote was roaming an open field to our east, flushing birds up including a Northern Harrier.

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Weather: Started out cold, warmed up nicely. Sunny.

Location: Burnt Chimney, VA

Time At Location: All day

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Everybody wanted to know where all the warblers, tanagers and cuckoos were that we'd been seeing in our yard for the previous two or three weeks! Sure would be nice if this count was done a couple of weeks earlier. Aren't most of the migrants gone from the northern half of the country by now?

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Weather: Clear and chilly (low 40's),winds very light WSW predawn, mid 50's Breezy NWN winds and mostly cloudy with front until noon.

Location: Litchfield, CT at the south end of Little Pond on Sutton's Bridge (crosses over the Bantam River).

Time At Location: 0430 to 1230hrs

Had the four expected owls with a total of 9 species before 6:00AM. Thrushes (many Hermits, 1 Wood and 1 Swainson's) and other night migrants mostly sparrows and a couple of warblers (no cuckoos) began dropping down at 6:20AM. Total by 7:00 jumped to 32sp., 8:00-55sp., 9:00-62sp., 10:00-72sp., 12:30-79sp. Only one evening shift person showed up to hit the 80 mark! Missed G-w Teal, Carolina Wren and a couple of other possibilities. All in all, an awesome day of birding.

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We were in cell phone contact with the state leaders, Milford Surf Scopers, constantly to see where their totals were. When we called at 9:00, they guessed we were at the mid 40's, we had 62. They were at 73. I was hoping to call them back with the 70 milestone within ten minutes to make them sweat a little. We banged out a bunch right away then couldn't buy a specie for a while. Of course they pulled away and smashed their old record which is also the state record!! Good job. Come to find out, our total was better than half of their previous years' totals.

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Weather: Very light southwest wind, mostly clear sky, 45 - 60 degrees F

Location: Porch of residence at 909 Bullhead Rd., Sparta, NC

Time At Location: 6.5 hours (6:30 - 1 pm EDT)

Since site looks out on ridge where Mahogany Rock Hawk Count is conducted, some of same birds usually observed on the hawk count are countable for the Big Sit from this location including a Merlin and adult Bald Eagle this year. Because of traveling to a high school reunion, the time for counting on the Big Sit was limited to half a day this year.

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Weather: Fine fall day as always. Temp. 47-80ºF. Little wind.

Location: Lake Mendocino, near Ukiah, California

Time At Location: 05:45-18:50

When we arrived it was a clear, cool night with Venus and Saturn close in the east and Sirius and Orion reflected in the lake. Before sunrise a high fog bank developed over the lake, but it never engulfed us or restricted the view much. This is the 9th year that we have "sat" here - long enough to see branches grow up to obscure the view and other trees disappear. We have always drawn a beautiful fall day. We got two owl species right off the bat, but after that, the whole day seemed a bit slow birdwise. By sunup we only had 42 species. We ended the day with 71 species - tying our all-time low. The lake level was fairly low - usually this means good conditions for shorebirds and dabbling ducks - but that did not bear our this year. The big miss of the day, inconceivable really, was Western Scrub-Jay! The last new bird of the day was a Northern Pygmy-Owl which spoke up just as I was preparing to leave. Maybe this was the Golden Bird from 2003 or one of its descendants.

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Weather: thick fog am, some drizzle about 0.1" of rain, clearing toward sundown

Location: Rapid City, Pennington Co., South Dakota

Time At Location: 6 hours

Early ID difficult due to pea soup fog, no field marks visible. Temperatures ranging from 42-47 all day. Migrants have all gone except 1 juvenile white crowned sparrow.

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Weather not much fun, but did have 3 varieties of dark eyed juncos...slate colored, Oregon and white winged variety indigenous to Black Hills of South Dakota. They are daily feeder visitors all winter, glad to see them back. Hoping for sandhill cranes to pass over, but they preferred to be elsewhere. Caroline Stafford

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Weather: Sunny, no clouds, 6 -> 16 degrees Celcius

Location: Zuidplaatje, the Dordtse Biesbosch, Dordrecht, The Netherlands

Time At Location: 00:00 till 19:30

Total of 8517 migrating birds. Good numbers of Chaffinch, Skylark and Blue tit. Rarities as Cettis Warbler, Common Crane, Red Kite and Yellow-browed Warbler, Ring Ouzel and a late Common tern. A great day!

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Weather: Temp: 35 - 65, Mostly sunny , light wind. Beautiful day.

Location: Boardwalk at Shavers Creek Env. Center

Time At Location: 12 hours

The (first annual??) Shaver's Creek Big Sit was conducted Sunday October 14. Weather was excellent - temps started in the 30s but rose to the 60s. Mostly blue sky. Occasional light wind. The count was conducted from the boardwalk at the upper (north) end of Lake Perez. Our participants in order of appearance: Doug Wentzel, Jon Kauffman, Greg Grove, Deb Grove, Ron Crandall, Chad Kauffman. Total time was approximately 12 hours i