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Vic 2004 Twitchathon Report

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Subject: Vic 2004 Twitchathon Report
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Date: Tue, 09 Nov 2004 17:58:41 +1100
2004 Victorian Twitchathon Report 6 & 7 November
Tim Dolby

Once again the Victorian Twitchathon has been run, won and lost. There 
were two major races this year, the 24 hr race and the 8 hr race - see 
summary below. The heavy rain in Victoria over the weekend caused major 
problems for many of the teams (with a few being washed out during the 
night), although surprisingly it did not seem to affect birding totals. 
On Sunday afternoon 30 tired and bleary-eyed twitchers made it to the 
finish line at Birds Australia HQ in Hawthorn. 

* Final Results 24 Hour Race

· 1st Prize, 200 birds, Bush Turkeys (Sean Dooley, Nevil Amos, Paul 
Peake, Michael Veitch) Best bird: Square-tailed Kite

· 2nd Prize, 174 birds, 24-Hour Stints (Margaret Alcorn, Richard 
Alcorn, Simon Starr, Clive Curzon). Best bird: Square-tailed Kite

· 3rd Prize, 158 birds, Common Loudmouths (Philip Jackson, Frank 
Mitchell, Max Arney, Greg Hunt, Ken Norris, Russell Thompson). Best 
Bird: Spotted Nightjar

· 4th Prize, 150 birds, Amber Beer-Eaters (Peter Fuller, Adam Bridger). 
Best bird: Gull-billed Tern

· 5th Prize, 142 birds, Ninox Nincompoops (Noel Billing, Lynne Billing, 
Asha Billing, Brenna Billing) Best Bird: Painted Honeyeater.

* Final Results 8 Hour Race

· 1st Place, 141 birds, Seven Year Twitchers (Tim Dolby, Greg Oakley 
and Fiona Parkin). Best Birds: Greater Sand Plover

· 2nd Place, 127 birds, Norwegian Blues (Jack Krohn Jnr, George 
Pergaminelis, Phillip Krohn, Andrew Krohn). Best Bird: Spotted Harrier

The best bird was a Painted Honeyeater, although Square-tailed Kite 
(nominated by 2 teams) was a close second. Overall all teams saw a 
combined total of 256 birds. The following is a selected summary of the 
birds seen in the 2004 Victorian Twitchathon, and reads like a Who?s 
who of Victorian birds. 

Non-passerines included Emu, Gull-billed Tern, Freckled Duck, Cape-
barren Goose, Glossy Ibis, Little Penguin, 5 species of cormorant 
including Black-faced Cormorant, both Australasian and Little Bittern, 
Nankeen Night Heron, 15 species of birds of prey including Peregrine 
Falcon, Square-tailed Kite, Spotted Harrier and White-bellied Sea-
Eagle, Buff-banded Rail and Spotted Crake, Black-tailed Native-hen, 
Greater Sand Plover, Artic Jaeger, both Black-tailed and Bar-tailed 
Godwit, Whimbrel and Eastern Curlew, Red Knot, a flock of over 500 
Banded Stilt, Pacific Golden and Hooded Plover, Latham's Snipe, Gull-
billed and White-winged Black Tern, Kelp Gull, Peaceful Dove, Brush 
Bronzewing, and an amazing 23 species of parrot including Major 
Mitchell?s Cockatoo, Cockatiel, Australian Ringneck, Blue-bonnet, 
Budgerigar, Mulga, Regent and Turquoise Parrot, Spotted Nightjar and 
White-throated Needletail. 

Passerines included Superb Lyrebird, both Southern and Mallee Emu-wren, 
Variegated, Splendid, White-winged, and Superb Fairy-wren, Large-billed 
Scrubwren, Shy Heathwren, Western Gerygone, Rufous Bristlebird, 
Striated Fieldwren, 7 species of thornbill, including Inland and 
Chestnut-rumped Thornbill, a remarkable 26 species of honeyeater 
including Yellow-throated Miner, Painted, Crescent, Spiny-cheeked, 
Tawney-crowned, Blue-faced and Black-chinned Honeyeater, Southern Scrub-
robin, 6 species of robin, including Red-capped, Hooded, Scarlet, 
Flame, Rose, and Eastern Yellow Robin, the 3 possible babblers, Grey-
crowned, Chestnut-crowned and White-browed Babbler, Varied Sittella, 
Crested Bellbird, Gilbert's Whistler, Rufous Fantail, 5 species of 
woodswallow including White-breasted, Masked, White-browed, Black-faced 
and Dusky Woodswallow, Apostlebird, Singing Bushlark, Diamond Firetail, 
Zebra Finch, White-backed Swallow, Bassian Thrush and Song Thrush.

My special thanks goes to the participant in the 2004 Victoria 
Twitchathon. I would like to thank the BA Vic committee who helped with 
the organisation of the BBQ, and to the judges for doing a very 
accurate job, for example they penalised (removed) a total of 10 birds 
from team lists, with the Common Loudmouths suffering the most, with 5 
birds removed for lateness. They even (in line with the current rules) 
removed Mallard from my teams list!

Cheers,

Tim



Tim Dolby
Convenor, Birds Australia, Victoria
C/O Birds Australia
415 Riversdale Road, Hawthorn, Victoria, 3123
Ph: (03) 9882 2622



 
 


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