Team Peregrine

[huddiecat]

Tonight at 7 pm the 2010 Montezuma Muckrace will start!  We, Lisa M, MAK, Don and myself, are the members of GVAS sponsored Team Peregrine 2010. 

Last year our team identified 96 species in the 24 hour period, well, actually we only birded on part of Saturday.  Top bird on our list this year is a Peregrine, of course!  Several juvies have been spotted there recently, and we are certainly hoping Jemison may be in the group.  We will be ready with our binos, spotting scopes, cameras, and sharp eyes!

We hope all with be cheering for us!  This year we hope to hit 100 species!! 
Suzanne   

[Bobbie Ireland]

Go, Team Peregrine, Go!



(I've done a few "bird races" here and they are wonderful fun...)

[jeanne]

If you all can spot Jemison, I think that should rate a perfect score!!!!!  Have fun and good luck!!

[Donna]

Tonight at 7 pm the 2010 Montezuma Muckrace will start!  We, Lisa M, MAK, Don and myself, are the members of GVAS sponsored Team Peregrine 2010. 

Last year our team identified 96 species in the 24 hour period, well, actually we only birded on part of Saturday.  Top bird on our list this year is a Peregrine, of course!  Several juvies have been spotted there recently, and we are certainly hoping Jemison may be in the group.  We will be ready with our binos, spotting scopes, cameras, and sharp eyes!

We hope all with be cheering for us!  This year we hope to hit 100 species!! 
Suzanne   

I'll be for ya's! Good luck, have fun and yes, please do find Jemison and or Callidora.

[Carol P.]

Good Luck!

[valhalla]

Team Peregrine will easily get to 100! 

[Kris G.]

I'll be rootin' for all of ya!  GO TEAM PEREGRINE 2010 and GOOD LUCK!!!   

[rushhen06]

Tonight at 7 pm the 2010 Montezuma Muckrace will start!  We, Lisa M, MAK, Don and myself, are the members of GVAS sponsored Team Peregrine 2010. 

Last year our team identified 96 species in the 24 hour period, well, actually we only birded on part of Saturday.  Top bird on our list this year is a Peregrine, of course!  Several juvies have been spotted there recently, and we are certainly hoping Jemison may be in the group.  We will be ready with our binos, spotting scopes, cameras, and sharp eyes!

We hope all with be cheering for us!  This year we hope to hit 100 species!! 
Suzanne   

You go guys !!!

[Joyce]

GO TEAM PEREGRINE!

We are all routing for you!!

With enthusiastic participants like MAK and Lisa (who are getting up and on the road at 4:45 am), accompanied by seasoned birders like Don and Suzanne - you'll break 100 species for sure!

[huddiecat]

Team Peregrine had a long, but successful day yesterday!  We had a goal of 100 species, and are happy to report that we surpassed our goal and successfully identified 103 species!  We think our sponsor, the Genesee Valley Audubon Society, will be pleased.

We met at the Wildlife Refuge about 6 am and headed to Howland Island, noted for its ravenous mosquitoes.  It was cool and foggy, so we were a little worried about finding songbirds.  When we stopped the car and got out to look around, the trees were alive with all sorts of birds!!  We birded with another team for a bit, always helps in identifying some of the migrating, non-breeding plumage birds.  We stayed there until the trees quieted down, and no birds could be found.

On our way to the check-in center, food and bathrooms, we stopped to look for Wood Ducks in a reliable spot.  We were on a roll and still had energy and were smiling!  We were now ready to tackle Toepath Road to view the Knox-Marcellus area!  This is where we were sure to see Sandhill Cranes and a Peregrine Falcon.  We searched and scoped and listened to what others were identifying, but no Peregrines or Sandhills.  We did spot some nice shorebirds, though.  While there, someone mentioned that the Wildlife Drive had some unusual shorebirds, which we had not seen yet.  So it was off to the Refuge and new birds for us, hopefully!

By the end of the Wildlife drive we were more than three-quarters of the way to our goal...yay!!  But we were getting hungry, so off to another spot when we could find shade and have lunch.  Now we were renewed and full of energy again.  If only we could find more new birds! 

We checked out several known hot spots, but didn't up with much.  We were getting worn down and tired.  Ah, back to Howland Island, the morning birding hot spot!  We took a different path, but didn't come up with anything there.  There were lots of trees along the winding path, but no birds!  Our spirits were getting low now and time was running out.  It was time to move on! 

We decided to go to the upper side of Knox-Marcellus and look for Sandhills and Bluebirds.  Don and I had seen them there Friday night about six, but all were gone by the 7 pm start time...of course!  On our way there, Lisa spotted some large shapes in a field.  We quickly turned around and went back to check the shapes out.  Yes...finally, the Sandhill Cranes!!  This was our turning point!  We again had energy, and were smiling!! 

Back on the road to Knox-Marcellus.  While driving there we spotted a gorgeous male Bluebird!  We still needed several species to match last year's count, though. 

At Knox-Marcellus we got lucky.  There was a birding tour there and people were sharing their sitings!  We still had to locate them and actually "see" the birds, of course.  It was here that we hit 100 species, but still no Peregrine Falcon!  On the way to get MAK's vehicle, we made one last stop at May's Point.  We had been there several times during the day, but we got lucky again!  While walking in someone mentioned that a Bittern and the Little Blue Heron were visible!  While looking at the Little Blue Heron someone mentioned that a bird was flying in and, yes, it was a female, juvie Peregrine Falcon!!  How fitting that our final bird would be a Peregrine Falcon! 

Tired, but very happy, Team Peregrine handed in the checklist at the 7:15 pm deadline!

We thank all the support everyone gave us during the day!!  And a huge thanks to the Genesee Valley Audubon Society! 

Suzanne for Team Peregrine MAK, Lisa M, and Don 

[MAK]

    Great report Suzanne!   

[Bobbie Ireland]

Eeeeeee-haaaah, Team Peregrine!

Thanks for the journey...

Slainte!

[Donna]

Team Peregrine...you guys did an awesome job. It was a full days work and I'm sure your all paying for it today. I think I'd drop dead if I saw 103 different species of birds in ONE day. I'm very proud of you 4. Thank you so much. 

[falconsforever129]

To Team Peregrine...
Great job and it is so rewarding to see all those birds I am sure!  I was thrilled when I saw 58 different species in one day at Brigantine Wildlife Refuge a few years ago..but over 100 including that PEREGRINE is TERRIFIC!!
 

[Paul Hamilton]

Three cheers for Team Peregrine! Also, thanks for a great story.  What can beat finishing up with a Peregrine with minutes to spare?

Paul