[EBB Sightings] Alameda County Big Year; January totals, send 'em in

Hi all:

zero for 3 on Mt. Bluebird attempts.  triple-ouch.
But I did get to hear two Loggerhead Shrikes chortling
at each other; bird talk I'd never heard before. And I
did get to see a juvie Ferruginous Hawk kiting above a
red-tail and below a Golden Eagle. And I did meet two
people I'd never seen before (well, evidently 1 I had
seen before, but it was part of a birdscrum, so
forgive me)......

The Alameda County Big Year is about enjoying this
county, documenting its birdlife, and having fun. We
will all see some very, very exciting birds and we
will all meet some really, really neat people.
guaranteed. and with a little sense of adventure,
we'll all go to a few places in the county we haven't
been to before.

So, with the last weekend of January gone, you may
want to submit your January totals. I can wait 'til
Thursday... or February 28th, or July 31st... But if
you think your total is relatively complete for the
month, send it when you have it. 

Allz I want is a number (e.g.  37 or 65, or 86, or
250.....).  Your list is your list. Keep it.  If you
don't have a good way to keep a list, Bruce Mast has
created an excellent xcel spreadsheet. Let me know and
I'll pass it on.

And I've been asked to provide some framework for the
Big Year rules. There's no reason to re-invent the
wheel. The ABA has excellent guidelines and we'll use
those (web-reference attached).  We'll deal with
exceptions by committee when they come up. But what
those exceptions might be and who's on the committee
are excellent questions.

2 cases in point:
1. Cherry-headed Conures.  I absolutely would report
their movements on ebbsightings. I think people are
very interested in those birds and want to know where
they are and if the colony is growing or dwindling. If
they can be included in the context of other birds
seen that day, all the better. AND, they don't count
towards the big year totals.

2. The American White Pelican at Lake Merritt. 
According to ABA guidelines, I'm pretty sure it
counts. We'll all see one or more elsewhere during the
year, but strictly speaking, I think it's wild and
unrestrained.  Which is an ABA countable bird.

Bob Lewis is experimenting with a page on
wingbeats.org for the monthly totals. The sooner you
start sending in totals, the sooner we can put Bob to
the test. Many thanks and many more to come for Bob to
devote time to this effort and space on his site for
tracking the fun.

Thanks for all the excitement this month!

Good birding,

Bob Power
Oakland, CA

http://www.americanbirding.org/bigday/rules.pdf