The 9th Annual Seatuck LI Birding Challenge was conducted on 17 September this
year, in very pleasant weather. Cool and cloudy to start in the morning, the
day warmed up into the mid 70s under mostly sunny skies, with low humidity.
With northeast winds early, followed by a warm, sunny afternoon, the day was
not especially conducive for active migration, despite the perfect date, but
many migrants were nonetheless detected, perhaps remaining after the good
flights of the previous two days. Enthusiasm was high all the way to the five
o’clock hour when the compilation and celebrations began at the lovely Scully
mansion, in person for the first time since 2019. A special treat this year was
Enrico’s presentation about the history of how this precious parcel of land
came to be preserved, followed by a tour of the mansion.
Competing this year were seven teams with a total of 28 participants. Retaining
the “covid era” rules for limited-area coverage as part of the new norm, we had
two Island-wide teams, single teams representing Queens, Nassau, and Western
Suffolk County, and two teams in Eastern Suffolk. The overall total of 166
species was very close to our long-term average of 167. It included three new
species, Long-tailed Duck, Bonaparte’s Gull, and Black-headed Gull, bringing
the cumulative list to 247 species over the nine years.
Few if any real rarities were recorded, and the highlights recounted by the
various teams mostly involved enjoyable experiences with species expected as to
date and location, and with team-mates. Many participants noted the relative
abundance of Cape May Warblers this fall, and the two teams that visited
Jamaica Bay appreciated the excellent conditions at the East Pond this year.
Pteam Ptarmigeddon competed island-wide and took first place for the overall
species total for a remarkable sixth time. Their total of 131 species included
7 “saves” (species not seen by any other team). The High Flyers had the second
highest species total, 110 in Queens County, and contributed 4 saves. The Aphid
Eaters, working Nassau County, had 99 species and 6 saves, and the Four Harbors
Herons came in with 90 species in Nassau and Suffolk (so nominally
island-wide), including two saves. Captree Counters Imperiál came in with 108
species within the Western Suffolk category and won the “Hunters’ Hoard” prize
for most saves, 12 in all. The Savage Trackers and Erin G’s junior team birded
Eastern Suffolk County; each contributed one save, and the Savage Trackers won
the area prize with 42 species. At this stage in the evolution of the
Challenge, it occurs to us that the collaborative dimension has been growing in
importance, as regionally focused efforts complement each other and contribute
toward the overall species total as a collective achievement each year,
analogous to CBCs.
Thanks to Enrico Nardone, Steve Walsh, and the Seatuck team for organizing and
hosting this enjoyable friendly competition. For more information on this
important organization and information on this annual event, go to
www.seatuck.org/birding-challenge
We hope to see everyone back next year, and as always, we welcome new teams to
join us!
Pat and Shai
Bay Shore, NY
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