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Birdlife Victoria 2013 Twitchathon results

To: Russell Woodford <>
Subject: Birdlife Victoria 2013 Twitchathon results
From: David Richardson <>
Date: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 11:56:04 +1100
If I read the rules correctly,to enter the Big Sit still required having a
team of minimum two people,so anyone who dosent have someone to join up
with still couldn't enter.

D.Richardson


On Fri, Nov 22, 2013 at 11:19 AM, Russell Woodford <>wrote:

> Congratulations to all those teams, and to the winners in each category. A
> big round of applause to Paul and his team of organisers.
>
> Now I'm kicking myself that I didn't register for the Big Sit because I
> ended up spending a half hour at Drysdale's Lake Lorne, and even my 25
> species would have been enough to win! And Freckled Duck is never too
> shabby to be a "best bird" ...
>
> Paul, just who are those Robin Rednecks? We didn't get a list of the
> culprits.
>
> Cheers
> Russell Woodford
>
>
>
>
> On 21 November 2013 21:08, Paul Dodd <> wrote:
>
> > Hi birders,
> >
> >
> >
> > Here are the results from the Birdlife Victoria Twitchathon this past
> > weekend. This year we had four teams in the 24-hour event and four teams
> in
> > the 8-hour competition, despite the fact that there was considerable
> > interest in the Big Sit, unfortunately no teams ended up registering for
> > this event. Additionally, this was the first year that we had
> fully-online
> > team registration and sponsorship - all in all, it worked reasonably
> well,
> > although I think we need to figure out how to make it a little easier
> > (especially the team registration). Anyway, onto the part that we're all
> > interested in, the results. Firstly, the 24-hour competition:
> >
> >
> >
> > The winners of the 24-hour competition were the Tick-tock Twins (Paul
> Rose
> > and Sean Fitzgerald) with a total of 209 species seen, the first time
> they
> > have broken the 200-species barrier. Best bird was Sooty Owl - well,
> three
> > of them! Biggest dip was Tawny Frogmouth. Congratulations Tick Tock
> Twins!
> >
> >
> >
> > Runners-up were long-time Twitchathon competitors, the Common Loudmouths
> > (Greg Hunt, Paul Kelly, Philip Jackson and Russell Thomson), with 174
> > species. The Loudmouths have, for many years, been 8-hour competitors, so
> > attempting the 24-hour event and scoring that many birds was a great
> > result.
> > Best bird was Crimson Chat at Yapeet, a great bird for Victoria
> generally,
> > and for the Twitchathon in particular. Biggest dip was Zebra Finch.
> >
> >
> >
> > Next was the Ruff Rollers (Brett Whitfield, Daniel Pendavingh and Bob
> > Dawson) with 166 species seen. Ruth and I usually bump into these guys at
> > Goschen, which seems to be the starting point for both teams! Best bird
> was
> > Little Tern and biggest dip was Hardhead.
> >
> >
> >
> > Finally was first-time competitors, the Plover United Party (Dan Eyles,
> > Chris Timewell, Warren Tomlinson and Alexander Holmes) with 127 species.
> > Best bird was Cicadabird at Terrick Terrick of all places! Biggest dip
> was
> > Wedge-tailed Eagle. Congratulations on a good effort in your first
> > competition! Interestingly the Plovers started in Mildura and ended in
> > Castlemaine, so perhaps not a route that could generate the highest
> number
> > of species, but they had some remarkable candidates for best bird in
> > addition to the Cicadabird they settled on - Painted Honeyeater at
> > Muckleford, Black-eared Cuckoo and White-browed Treecreeper at Yarara.
> >
> >
> >
> > In the 8-hour competition the winners were the Robin Rednecks with the
> > remarkable tally of 166 species! This is a new record for the 8-hour
> > competition, with the previous record of 156 species recorded by the
> Common
> > Diving Petrolheads in 2003. Even more remarkable, the Robin Rednecks now
> > hold BOTH the 8-hour and 24-hour records (they set the 24-hour
> competition
> > record in 2011 with a tally of 225 species). Best bird was Square-tailed
> > Kite (I don't recall seeing this bird in Victorian Twitchathon lists in
> > previous years) and biggest dip was Zebra Finch. The Rednecks spent all
> of
> > their time in northern and central Victoria, not coming to the Western
> > Treatment Plant, so that makes their total even more remarkable.
> >
> >
> >
> > Runners-up in the 8-hour event were long-time 8-hour competitors the
> > Norwegian Blues (Jack Krohn and George Pergaminelis) with 145 species -
> not
> > quite as high as their 2011 tally of 149 but a great result nonetheless.
> > Best bird was Arctic Jaeger at the Western Treatment plant and biggest
> dip
> > was Black-shouldered Kite, despite spending hours at the Western
> Treatment
> > Plant!
> >
> >
> >
> > Next was the Oriental Prats (Rohan Bilney, Lucas Bluff, Aileen Collyer
> and
> > Tamara Leitch) with a total of 137 species. Best bird was Osprey - yet
> > another great bird for Victoria, and biggest dip was Golden-headed
> > Cisticola.
> >
> >
> >
> > Finally in the 8-hour event were the Wallace Wanderers (Fiona and Darren
> > Wallace and the two keen young birders, Amber - 12 years and Jaxen - 7
> > years) with a total of 75 species seen. Best bird was Cape Barren Goose
> and
> > biggest dip was King Parrot - a really great effort and hopefully a
> signal
> > to other families considering entering that not only is it possible but a
> > Twitchathon can be a great deal of fun for the entire family!
> >
> >
> >
> > Unfortunately this year Ruth and I (the Gang Gang Gang) were unable to
> > participate and had to withdraw at the last minute. I have an unfortunate
> > habit of severely injuring myself whilst on holiday, and this trip was no
> > exception with me twisting my leg and ankle and tearing ligaments.
> > Hopefully
> > next year.
> >
> >
> >
> > Well done to all teams that participated and thanks for all your efforts
> > with raising sponsorship money - it will all be put to good causes,
> > supporting advanced tertiary students studying Victorian-oriented,
> > bird-related topics and projects at university.
> >
> >
> >
> > Paul Dodd
> >
> > Birdlife Victoria Regional Group - Twitchathon Coordinator
> >
> >
> >
> > ===============================
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