Subject: [Tweeters] Big 1/4 Day results in Clallam County
Date: May 18 19:45:50 2015
From: B Boekelheide - bboek at olympus.net


Hello, Tweeters,

We held our fourth annual Clallam "Big 1/4 Day" this morning. The idea is to see and/or hear as many species within a 6-hour period between 4:30 and 10:30 am, all within our county. Each team creates its own route within the county that they think will produce the highest species total. Teams must arrive at the same final meeting place (Ediz Hook) by 10:45 am (although some were a few minutes late...).

Eight people in 5 teams participated this morning. The combined species total for all teams was a record 150 species, and the team with the highest species list tallied a record 123 species. Not bad for 6 hours of birding in western WA! The most productive routes started in the Olympic Mountains or at Diamond Point, then around Sequim and Dungeness Bays, and finally to Port Angeles. Nothing particularly unusual, just a lot of bird diversity this time of year, and a lot of fun had by all. A very birdy morning ? for example, in about 3 hours one team tallied 110 species just within the boundaries of the Sequim zip code area (98382). All within the legal speed limit (well, almost...).

Today?s event is in honor of Mark Salvadalena, taking care of his daughter AvaLily (aka Avalanche Lily) in Seattle. Mark started the Big 1/4 Day tradition when he lived in Clallam County. Good on ya, Ranger Gord! Check out Mark?s birdy website, "Best of Birds," at http://www.bestofbirds.com

Bob Boekelheide
Dungeness