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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