John Triana wrote:

> Folks,
>
> This is the final reminder for The Big Sit! 2001. A few notes before this weekend.....
>
> 1) New records! - We are now at 100 circles for TBS! 2001! 20% of which are
> in the Lone Star State! Texas birders put out a call via an email list and
> I have received a huge response from Texans from the Pan-handle to the Gulf.
> They have the top-state honors in their sights. With that many circles, Jim
> Royer & Co. may have to find 222 species at Elfin Forest to keep the Golden
> State on top! We have 2 new states - Idaho and Massachusetts - That will
> make 27 for this year (highest single year) and bring the overall number up
> to 35. We will also have our first African (S. Africa and Namibia) and
> Mexican circles.
>
> 2) Reporting results - Please get your data to me by November 1 if possible.
> Our website has all the details on what we need from you
> (http://members.aol.com/nhbirdclub/bigsit.htm), but I'll just highlight the
> data here. (a) First, make sure the species names are the same as those
> used by the AOU checklist. The AOU checklist can be seen at their
> website -http://www.aou.org/aou/birdlist.html. Make sure that apostrophes,
> hyphens, and spellings are correct. Also, please list species in taxonomic
> order. The AOU checklist is a good reference for this as well. (b) Second,
> the best way to send in the data is as a list in a spreadsheet. If you can't
> put them into a spreadsheet the next best thing is to list them vertically
> in an email. By sending us your data in this manner, we will be able to
> reduce the time it takes to produce the report. [Special note to our
> non-North American Sitters! - I will be sending out another email to you
> tomorrow to try and figure out the best way to get your data. Obviously the
> AOU checklist isn't going to do much good for you guys.]
>
> 3) Good Luck! After all the events of the last month, it will be good to
> relax for a day. The weather is looking iffy here in Connecticut for
> Sunday. Let's hope it only rains in those states that don't have circles!
>
> As always, let me know if you have any questions.
>
> Thanks,
> JT
>
> John Triana "Just take your shoes off
> jtriana at connix.com and get soulful, ya know?"
> http://www.connix.com/~jtriana - Otis Redding