These statistics reflect information submitted by reporting circles. As teams continue to report their Big Sit! results, the statistics on this page will change to reflect up-to-the-minute information.
Team Information: Super-silly-em!
Team Checklist
- Wood Duck Aix sponsa
- Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
- Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps
- Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto
- White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica
- Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
- Inca Dove Columbina inca
- Chimney Swift Chaetura pelagica
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris
- American Coot Fulica americana
- American Avocet Recurvirostra americana
- Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
- Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca
- Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius
- Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis
- Neotropic Cormorant Phalacrocorax brasilianus
- Double-crested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus
- American White Pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
- Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
- Great Egret Ardea alba
- Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea
- Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
- White-faced Ibis Plegadis chihi
- Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
- Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
- Sharp-shinned Hawk Accipiter striatus
- Cooper's Hawk Accipiter cooperii
- Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus
- Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus
- Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus
- Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens
- Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus
- American Kestrel Falco sparverius
- Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe
- Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata
- American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos
- Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
- Carolina Chickadee Poecile carolinensis
- Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor
- Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula
- Eastern Bluebird Sialia sialis
- American Robin Turdus migratorius
- European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
- House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus
- Nashville Warbler Oreothlypis ruficapilla
- Orange-crowned Warbler Oreothlypis celata
- Yellow-rumped Warbler Setophaga coronata
- Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
- Common Grackle Quiscalus quiscula
- Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
- Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater
Team Notes
Participants: Frank Bumgardner, Paula Channell, Greg Cook, Christine Drozdowski, Ted Drozdowski, Dianne Duke, Bill Huffman, Susan Kosoris, Missy McAllister-Kerr, Mike Wease, E.G. White-Swift,
Weather: Temps 65-70, Wind from every direction, heavy rain half the day, mostly cloudy, dark at times, afternoon tornado warning.
Location: West end of Lake Waxahachie, Ellis County, TX.
Time At Location: 6:30am - 7:15pm
Notes:
First of all I want to give a huge "Thank you" to the ten or so people who came out to the big sit despite a horrible forecast. This was truly a team effort and I am grateful for each participant's commitment to the tradition of the big sit.
We had a lot of rain over the previous month and the mudflats were covered weeks ago. Birding had been slow lately and so I had set the bar low with the goal of reaching 40 species, with 30 being our "Mendoza Line." (Our average is 64 species.)
The rain started at 8:32am and by noon we returned to the house thoroughly soaked, but having found around 42 species! Nothing really special but highlights included Ruby-throated Hummingbirds still hanging around and three American Avocets. A small mixed species flock gave us Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Orange-crowned, Nashville, and Yellow-rumped Warblers, along with a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Things dried up a bit and even had a little sun as I birded in six inches of water from 4pm to dusk. I added ten species to bring our total to 52. Late afternoon highlights included a massive driftwood/debris pile in the lake along with Wood Duck, Cooper's Hawk, and a flock of 130 American White Pelicans. The last two birds of the day came in to roost on the driftwood: A White-faced Ibis and Cattle Egret. The Big Sit is always fun! Looking forward to next October already!
Anecdotes:
After a thorough soaking and lunch in the house, the remaining participants called it a day. (I was very thankful they endured the morning deluge.) Rain was now steady with occasional torrential outbursts. The wind picked up and I could hear the tornado siren on the other side of the lake. Tornado warning then came through on my phone. I suddenly realized my scope was still under the canopy tent at the edge of the lake, one hundred-fifty yards away. Venturing outside, it was getting darker and still pouring. As I ran to the lake to retrieve my scope the wind started blowing harder and the rain intensified. I made it back to the house with the scope, utterly drenched. I dried off and took an hour nap, tornado warning notwithstanding. After the worst of the rain I returned to the circle to find it now under six inches of water. (The lake had risen about eighteen inches in the hour I was asleep.) One of the canopy tents had collapsed under the wind and the rain! My wife helped me clean up a bit and we retrieved a cooler that floated away. . . I then birded the last four hours of daylight solo, picking up a few birds here and there. Big Sit excitement at its finest.
