Birding: Competing for the big number

Earlier this year, I wrote about a little game that some members of the Lynchburg Bird Club have been playing. A group of us is working hard to find as many different species as possible within Lynchburg and the surrounding counties of Amherst, Bedford and Campbell.

I got off to a slow start myself. Although I knew about the contest, I didn’t get out much in early January to look for birds.

At our first club meeting of 2009, everyone was asked for his species count, and I soon realized that mine was pitiful. So I got busy, ran around to all the nearby lakes looking for waterfowl and, by the following month, my list looked much more respectable. My efforts were somewhat hampered by a round of baby-sitting duty in Texas during the beginning of the spring migration, but by early summer I was out there with the leaders.

My number now stands at 185, and I think that only Mark Johnson, from Madison Heights, is ahead of me (and not by too much), so I am hopeful. Although each one of us would like to tally the most species, the competition has remained friendly, and we all help one another, frequently birding in a group. When Peggy Lyons located a colony of dickcissels in Campbell County during mid-June, she immediately contacted everyone to come and see them.

Of course, as I find more birds, it grows increasingly difficult to add the next one. At this point, I’ve seen all of the common species, and I’m missing only six of those ranked as uncommon. Rexanne Bruno and I thought of a strategy to locate some of those difficult thrushes that migrate through our area, and we’ll share our ideas with the other birders next week.

The real upside of all this roaming around near Lynchburg is that we have expanded our knowledge about bird distribution close to home. In fact, we added an anhinga to our cumulative list, a species that had never before been recorded in this area.

There have also been great benefits to those of us who are trying to learn more about birds. It didn’t take some of our members long to realize that, in spite of much former procrastination, they would simply have to gather their courage and try to master bird songs. People are also discovering some previously unknown habitat in the region that is simply marvelous for birds.

As we move into fall, I’ll be scrambling around, trying to pick up some of those migrants that I missed earlier in the spring. With even a few good breaks, I should end December with over 190, and if I’m incredibly lucky, maybe I’ll get to 200.

By the way, if anyone should see any terns, please let me know.

News and notes
We have two native plants in the orchid family that are blooming in our yard this week. John is very happy about the ladies-tresses because they are growing in the lawn beside the driveway, and now he can’t mow the grass up there. We also have a crane-fly orchid in full flower beneath a beech tree. Although delicate and small, the individual blossoms are quite beautiful.