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Dear Tweeters:

Apparently my first effort was garbled due to overly long lines, so here's a
second try. Also, the "long May weekend" referred to is obviously the
Victoria Day weekend (May 18-20), not the Memorial Day weekend. Please send
any replies directly to me at "cannings at awinc.com"; my tweeters subscription
is temporarily turned off.

Dick Cannings

Naramata, BC
(604)496-4019
cannings at awinc.com

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THE 1996 OKANAGAN BIG DAY CHALLENGE

Welcome to the eleventh annual Okanagan Big Day Challenge, held each year on=
the long May weekend. =20
This year, for the seventh time, it is being organized as a birdathon with=
all proceeds going to the Nature=20
Trust of British Columbia, where it will be used to help purchase nature=
reserve land in the Okanagan.

OBJECT

The object of a Big Day is to see or hear as many bird species as possible=
on one day, usually in a given=20
area. This year=92s Big Day takes place on Sunday, May 19, from midnight to=
midnight. The Little Big=20
Day competition involves teams finishing at noon.

RULES

1. Teams must have a name. If you don=92t have a team name before you=
start, you must think one up=20
during the day. Usually after 20 hours of straight birding, something=
appropriate will surface.

2. Teams must consist of two to six (usually three or four) people=
travelling in one vehicle. =20

3. Teams must begin and end the day within the Okanagan watershed in=
Canada, and/or remain within=20
Okanogan County, Washington.

4. No tape recorders are allowed to attract birds (they are recommended for=
documentaion of a calling or=20
singing rarity), although the participants may imitate bird calls by=
whistles, grunts, hoots, or whatever.

5. No airplanes are allowed.

6. A participant may join or leave a team part way through the day, as long=
as he or she is part of the=20
team for at least half of the time that team spends in the field. E.g. a=
person who is not too keen on=20
getting up at 0200 may join his/her team at dawn without that team having to=
delete species not seen by=20
that person. A corollary of this is that the ABA=92s 95% rule does not=
apply. A person in the field for less=20
than half of the time must act as a =93nonparticipating companion=94 as=
defined and regulated in the ABA=20
rules. =20

7. All species seen or heard during the day must be checked off a checklist=
and the checklist submitted to=20
the organizers before or during the brunch on Monday. Any species indicated=
as casual, accidental or=20
nonexistent in spring or summer on the Okanagan checklist must be documented=
with a full field=20
description, photograph, or tape recording, and this evidence must be=
submitted to and accepted by the=20
organizers.

KEEPING SCORE

THE FLAMMULATED OWL AWARD

This award is presented to the team which records the most species during=
the day. If two teams are tied,=20
the winner is the one which saw its last species earliest.

THE KOOTENAY KUP

This award, donated by Gary Davidson, is presented to the team, usually Gary=
Davidson=92s, which records=20
the second highest species total of the day. =20



THE LITTLE BIG DAY AWARD

To be eligible for the Little Big Day award, teams must finish birding (or=
collapse or whatever) before=20
noon. Those teams which continue birding into the afternoon are not=
eligible for this award, no matter=20
how good their species total was at high noon.

THE OKA-NOGGIN

This cherished mug, donated by Gerry Bennett of the now-defunct Birdfinding=
in Canada, will be given to=20
the birder who first sights the =93Bird of the Day=94. This decision will=
be made by public show of hands at=20
the Monday brunch by all participants present.

THE SOUR GRAPES AWARD

A large cluster of green steel grapes, donated by Doug Kragh and the=
now-defunct Freightliner shop in=20
Burnaby (donating awards to this event is clearly not good luck), is slung=
like an albatross around the=20
neck of the leader of the team which misses the commonest bird species=
during the challenge, another=20
decision made by public show of hands.

It is clear that to properly assign some of these awards, it would be very=
helpful if teams kept a running=20
list during the day, recording the time at which each species was seen. A=
team wishing to submit its Big=20
Day Count to the American Birding Association must, of course, abide fully=
by ABA rules rather than the=20
more relaxed ones outlined above. Blake Maybank, the Big Day editor for the=
ABA, will be attending the=20
OKBDC again this year and promises to bring a new award, but has declined to=
say what it will be=20
awarded for.

THE MONDAY BRUNCH

The Monday brunch will take place at 9:30 a.m. at the home of Dick Cannings=
and Margaret Holm at=20
1330 East Debeck Road in Naramata. To get there, follow the signs for=
Naramata northeast from the=20
intersection of Main and Westminster in Penticton (km 0). The route=
involves many curves and=20
intersections for the first half, but always follow the arrows on=
checkerboard signs or any signs for=20
Naramata. About 12.6 kilometres from Main Street you meet Arawana Road on=
the right; there is a=20
bunch of green mailboxes at the bottom of it (if you pass the Naramata Fire=
Hall you=92ve gone too far). =20
Turn right and go up the hill past two side streets on the left; the third=
one on the left is Debeck. Turn=20
here and go a hundred metres or so, cross the creek (very small, culvert),=
then turn left again to stay on=20
Debeck. Our house is the first one on the left after this turn. Park on the=
roadside. For further=20
information, call Dick or Marg at 496-4019. It will be a pot-luck brunch,=
so bring some fruit, cereal,=20
rolls, bread or whatever else you think is appropriate. Coffee will=
definitely be available.

There will be an optional pre-Big Day meeting at the Cannings=92 place in=
Naramata on Saturday evening=20
(7 to 9 or so).

Good luck and good birding!



Dick Cannings, organizer
496-4019 (phone/fax)
cannings at awinc.com

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