Monday, October 01, 2007

Big Sit - October 14

Busy on Sunday, October 14? Why not spend the day confined to a 17-foot diameter circle? That's what Beth and I will be doing for the 13th annual Big Sit hosted by Bird Watcher's Digest. It's a fun way to raise money for your club or other charitable organization.

My original intent was to spend the day at the observation platform at Sandy Hook where I would be sure to see a lot of species thanks to its varied habitats and elevated vantage point. Unfortunately, I realized that I have to volunteer that day at the Sandy Hook Bird Observatory. So, instead of sitting on the observation deck, we'll be sitting on the front porch of the Bird Observatory. The disadvantage of this location is that We'll have a building behind us, very few trees, and visitors to tend to. There are some feeders, a great view of the bay, and the few trees do attract some migrants on a good day. It'll make a good conversation piece with the visitors though. We expect to only see about 30-40 species whereas we might have seen 60-75 from the observation deck. It'll be fun though. We've named our "team" the "SHBO Stoop Pigeons." If you're interested, we'd love to have help!

4 comments:

Rick Wright said...

The only Sandwich Terns I've seen in NJ were visible from that porch one rainy late-summer day. Good luck!
Rick

Patrick B. said...

Coincidentally, the only Sandwich Terns I have seen in NJ were at Sandy Hook, but not from the porch. I saw them from the north end. In February, Harbor Seals sometimes come in real close to the building in the bay there which is pretty cool. Very rarely, a Wilson's Storm-petrel makes it there too (not that I've seen one there).

LauraHinNJ said...

I had said I was going to do a Big Sit with you, hadn't I?

Not sure what I have going next Sunday, but I'll try to stop by and sit with you.

Patrick B. said...

Laura, I won't hold you to it, but it'd be fun if you stopped by!