Hi All, The only thing that seemed to elude birders taking part in the FIFTH ANNUAL BRRRRdathon were frigid temps! Records were set in the 2-DAY BRRRRdathon and 1-DAY BRRRRdathon…and not just beaten by 1 or 2 species but SMASHED!
Photos and details here: http://www.saxzim.org/brrrrdathon/ Team Benny and the Bensons (Dave Benson, Lars Benson, Ben Yokel) amassed 57 species (including all 10 winter finches!) breaking the former record held by Wisconsin's Team Badger Irruption/Eagle Optics by THREE species. Teams explored the wilds of Sax-Zim Bog, Lake County, MN, Duluth, Superior, WI, Carlton County and some ventured as far as Crow Wing County, MN and Burnett County, Wisconsin! Steve Millard did an adjunct BRRRRdathon in OtterTail County, Minnesota. It takes much strategy to find the most species over two days in such a large "playing field" (all of NE MN and NW WI) Almost all groups tallied the Common Eider and Northern Pintails that linger at Duluth's Canal Park. Rare gulls included Iceland, Thayer's, Glaucous and Greater Black-backed found at Superior Landfill, WLSSD and Canal Park. Lakeside of Duluth and Leif Brush's yard yielded Juncos, Cardinals and a surprising Northern Flicker. In the same area, some teams found the Golden-crowned Sparrow that has been coming to a feeder for over a month. Big numbers of redpolls, siskins, Purple Finches were expected and they did not disappoint. The Yokel Boys had a TEN OWL DAY with 7 different Snowy Owls in Superior, WI and all 3 reported Hawk Owls in MN. Judd Brink had an impressive 5 Northern Shrikes in Crow Wing and Aitking Counties…a bird that has been seen in lower than normal numbers in Sax-Zim Bog. Surprising misses included Great Gray Owl (though one was seen in Sax-Zim on Friday by non-competing birders), Spruce Grouse, and Black-backed Woodpecker. Steve Millard in Otter Tail County added several species that were not found in the "official playing field" of NE MN and NW WI, including Greater Prairie Chicken, Pied-billed Grebe, Bufflehead, Ring-necked Duck, Trumpeter Swan, Barrow's Goldeneye, Red-winged Blackbird and Rusty Blackbird. The Wintergreen/non-motorized division boasted two teams this year. And both biked their entire route in the Duluth city limits (half on "fat bikes" and half on regular mountain bikes). Not only battling the elements and exhaustion, the peddlers have to navigate Duluth's icy roads and hills. "Guys Gone Fat" (Andrew Webster, Pat Kohlin, Sean Walsh) edged out the "Broken Chain Gang" (Tim Bates, Bryan French, Shannon Walsh) by ONE SPECIES with a total of 30 species. Our compilation dinner at the Aspenwood Clubhouse was a relaxed affair with pans of lasagna, loaves of bread, salad and fantastic desserts! Thanks to Ben Yokel, Sarah Beaster, and Lori Williams for the yummy fare! 2-DAY BRRRRdathon RESULTS 57 species—Benny & The Bensons (Dave Benson, Lars Benson, Ben Yokel) 50 species—Apter Raptors (John Ellis, Alex Ellis) 4? species—OtterTail Only (Steve Millard) 27 species—Team Dudley (David Dudley) 19 species—Brink of Greatness (Judd Brink) 1-DAY BRRRRdathon RESULTS 46 species—Coldfinches (Cindy Edwardson, Barb Akre, Kim Eckert, Mary Gabrys) ?? species—Yokel Boys (Ben Yokel, Uri Yokel) WinterGreen/Non-Motorized BRRRRdathon RESULTS 30 species—Guys Gone Fat (Andrew Webster, Pat Kohlin, Sean Walsh) 29 species—The Broken Chain Gang (Tim Bates, Bryan French, Shannon Walsh) The PHOTOTHON was also extremely close with excellent bird and mammal photos from Rich Hoeg and Jason Mandich ending in a virtual tie. Jason edged out Rich, scoring high points for his Mink and Flying Squirrel photos. Rich's excellent Snowy Owl photos also scored high marks. Unlike the BRRRRdathon, the Photothon time frame (Dec 26-Jan 14) held some bitter cold conditions, with temps bottoming out at Minus 27 F air temperature! Hope you can join us for the Sixth annual BRRRRdathon in January of 2016! Sparky Stensaas 2515 Garthus Road Wrenshall MN 55797 218.341.3350 sparkystens...@hotmail.com www.ThePhotoNaturalist.com www.KollathStensaas.com www.SaxZim.org ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
