Races #1 and #2, compiled by Louise Bacon. On Easter Monday, Mark Ward hit 75 species, and on 2nd May Duncan Poyser reached 88 Read the full report here
Races #3, At least three people, or pairs, burnt a lot a calories in their non-motorised attempts to produce scorching day lists. Well done to Matt Webb on his 83 and Louise Bacon on her 89, but Christoph Zockler and Marcus Kohler managed to race ahead later in the day to finish on a fine 92.
Now that we have more freedom to be out for much longer, a few of us really want a Biking bird-race day, but we also respect the fact that some of you are still either shielding and therefore confined to barracks, or are still only doing short excursions...
So this time there is way more freedom in where / how long you record, as long as you follow a few basics outlined below:
Recording birds you see / hear in Cambridgeshire during the 24-hour period of Sunday 24th May.
No records from recording devices. You can obviously record at night as long as it's your ears you are using.
You can stay home, or go out for as many hours as you like, on foot or by bike. No motorised travel.
You must start and finish the recording period at home.
You can compete as a team all from the same household - or as a team of a maximum of two if not from the same household and as long as you are only outdoors. Everyone must remain socially distanced as appropriate and follow all other government Covid related guidance. You can spend the day bird-racing with a friend by bike covering as many sites as you want to from dawn till dusk or longer... or you can just watch from the garden. Or just about anything in between.
Recording form link for the end of the activity here: https://forms.gle/XHgek6AEiNagJJhK7
At Easter we had 40 birders across the county participate in a 12-hour recording day from home, and it seemed very popular. The top 3 counts last time were 75, 69 and 65........tough counts to beat but remember, the average was 39 species.
So, we are having another one, this Saturday, 2nd May.
The rules for this second race are slightly different.
1. The recording period is still 12 hours but 5.00am to 5.00pm.
2. Your one hour away from home can be a walk or a bike ride, but it must start and finish at your home.
3. For the checklist, list of what you saw at home, then a second list of what you ADDED on your exercise out.
Here is the link to fill in AFTER you have finished https://forms.gle/mrCHM11At3BWJVTSA
Good hunting!
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From Louise -just for a bit of fun, a few of us thought it might be quite interesting to have a 12-hour bird count on Easter Monday.....
A few basic rules:
Birds recorded between 6.00am and 6.00pm on Monday 13th April from your garden, apart from one hour for your government-approved walk only exercise.
No cycling off to somewhere - that is cheating!
You can count for any number of periods up to the full 12 hours. You don't have to take a one-hour walk if you don't want to, but only record between the times stated.
Then, at the end of your recording time, use the link below to tell me what you saw (and can you add a location, preferably just a town or village.....not your exact address...). The link does not allow you to go back to it once submitted, so don't try to put the list on there through the day to add to it. You will have to keep the list on paper, in your head or on some kind of electronic memo till you have finished. It will be public and it will only be live until the end of Monday so don't delay submitting your records.
Lets see how we do - it's migration, it's raptor-watching, it's garden birding, it's a minor competition with no prize whatsoever.......and it's all over before evening mealtime.