Superbowl Summary...

The Bloggerhead Kingbirds focusing on the task at hand.

Well, I am back from the Superbowl of Birding that was held this past weekend in MA. Instead of narrating the event like I did last year, I will just provide a summary on how the competition went. As you may recall, this was an event that involved nonstop birding for 12 hours in some pretty cold conditions. Unlike last year, we did not win anything this year…not even one of the 40 + door prizes that were raffled off.

We finished with 142 points and 73 species. Which compared to last year’s 70 species and 127 points, one would think it was good enough for a top tier place, but it was not. Local teams dominated the results taking all the top spots. The winners were the Burger Kinglets and you could read all about their exploits here. Our loss was not a result from a lack of hard work. We battled hard hustling from one location to the next pushing each other to find birds. Birds we did find, but in the end it was not enough.

Despite the results, the consensus among our team was that we had a great time birding together. I can’t say enough about how well this team worked together. From Corey who managed all of the driving to Nate who battled a cold throughout the competition, to John who was quick on the accipiters, to Mike who examined the Gulls with an all critical eye to Chris our Captain who did all the local scouting.

It was a solid team effort, things just did not fall into place as we would have liked. Yet, even though we did not place, there was plenty to be cheerful about. Good company, good birding and some lifers for a few of us. Nate picked up his life King Eider (Somateria spectabilis), number 500 on his ABA list, John picked up three lifers in Dovekie (Alle Alle), Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus) and Barrow’s Goldeneye (Bucephala islandica). Mike also got in on the lifer act with the Dovekie (Alle Alle) being a lifer for him.

No lifers for Chris, Corey or I, but we had quite the good time! Of course, you could expect that this team will analyze the results and tweak strategies in an effort to improve on our results. If this team decides to do it again next year, you could bet we are going to bring it! Be sure to read my Bloggerhead teammates take on the competition.  Corey Finger from 10000birds, John Beetham from a DC Birding Blog, Mike Powers from Feathers and Flowers , Nate Swick from The Drinking Bird and our Captain Christopher Ciccone from Picus Blog.

Tags: Dovekie, Superbowl of Birding, Barrow's Goldeneye, King Eider