Subject: (off topic) Seattle Yard List Competition
Date: Sep 16 09:43:34 2004
From: newboldwildlife at netscape.net - newboldwildlife at netscape.net



Hi all!

I ?d like to broach the idea of a formal 1st annual Seattle 2004 yard-year-list competition.


The requirements for entry in the 1st Annual Seattle Yard-Year list Competition would be:
1. The yard is inside the Seattle city limits.

2. The participant is willing to allow their phone number, optional email address, and general location of yard to be disclosed to the media in press releases, as well as the yard-list itself.

3. The participant would be willing to be interviewed by the press if the press were interested enough to call (by no means a given). This could be either after December 31 2004 when results would be official, or before.

4. The participant should e-mail me at newboldwildlife at netscape.net or call me at 206 767 7169 with current list total (I?d love to see any lists, they are welcome but not necessary at this point) plus class of entry (see below) and neighborhood as soon as possible. The participant will e-mail the list of species seen to me if and when it?s needed.



Yards would be entered in one of four classes:

Class W: yard with reasonably close salt or fresh water view

Class G: yard adjoining greenbelt

Class R: pure single family residential

Class M: condo or apartment in multifamily, commercial or industrial


Neighborhoods can have winners also, so don?t be reluctant to enter just because you think your yard list might be on the low side: it might be the highest in your neighborhood.

Prizes

Prize for entering: 14 x 18" backed and wrapped Shade Coffee poster which retails for $16 from my store next to the newsstand at the market at First and Pike (#1 Economy Arcade). This prize is will call only?(you must pick it up at the store, any time in 2004 or 2005).


Winner?s Prizes: Class W -- Your choice of a paid two- year sub to WA Birder or A $20 dollar gift certificate to my store, (Ed Newbold Wildlife Artist) ; 150 dollar gift to the International Bird Conservancy in your name

Class G-- $20 gift certificate or paid two year sub to WA Birder, $75 gift to Skagit Land Conservancy, & $75 gift to Whidbey/Camano Land Trust in your name

Class C $25 gift Certificate or paid two year sub to WA Birder, $75 gift to American Bird Conservancy, & $75 gift to Seattle Audubon Society in your name

Class D $28 gift certificate or paid two year sub to WA Birder, $75 gift to Rainforest Action Network, & $75 gift to Nature Conservany in your name

Top 4 Neighborhood winners: free book, Landscaping for Wildlife in the Northwest, by Russell Link (winner will call or we?ll ship)


Yardbird definition: any bird seen or heard from the yard. Thus if you heard or saw a bird while in your yard but had to walk several blocks away from your yard to identify it, that would count, but a bird seen only one door away while headed home wouldn?t count, unless you could get to your yard and still see or hear it.

Caveat: For obvious reasons, I better not be a winner?I told that Nashville Warbler taking a bath in our yard Monday to be fair and visit other people?s yards too!

Please let any birders who keep a yard list but aren?t on Tweeters or who aren?t reading it every day know about this and contact me at 206 767 7169.


(For anyone who is wondering, here are some reasons for this contest:

1. Competition drives a massive amount of reporting about sports, so a new formal competition may be a way to get press for birding, which to me would be an unqualified positive. (I?m particularly interested in press that isn?t associated with extinction issues so there is a mix of bird news and people don?t begin to associate birds with only bad news.)

2. It could be used to help focus attention on backyard habitat issues.

3. It could ultimately, were it to survive, be a way to get press for trends in bird distribution, positive or negative. Plus, it could promote yard lists which might be an easy step into birding for some people and which have some intrinsic scientific value because of their relative lack of detection bias. This has already been recognized nationally with the existence of the Backyard Birding program run by Cornell.

4. It could be fun.

Again, please enter by emailing me at newboldwildlife at netscape.net or calling me at 206 767 7169. Tell me what number you?re at now, your name, your phone number, what class your yard falls into and what neighborhood you live in and if possible describe generally where in that neighborhood you are, or optionally just include your address. Be prepared to supply the list if & when needed.

Sorry this is only Seattle, and thanks in advance,
Ed Newbold tweeter by digest residential Beacon Hill between the fruit stand and Cleveland, newboldwildlife at netscape.net



__________________________________________________________________
Switch to Netscape Internet Service.
As low as $9.95 a month -- Sign up today at http://isp.netscape.com/register

Netscape. Just the Net You Need.

New! Netscape Toolbar for Internet Explorer
Search from anywhere on the Web and block those annoying pop-ups.
Download now at http://channels.netscape.com/ns/search/install.jsp