Date:         Mon, 26 Apr 2010 09:04:20 -0400
Reply-To:     Tim Keyes <Tim.Keyes@DNR.STATE.GA.US>
Sender:       Georgia Birders Online <GABO-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Tim Keyes <Tim.Keyes@DNR.STATE.GA.US>
Subject:      Youth Birding Competition results
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Hey GABO -
I thought some of you may be interested seeing our press release about
the YBC this past weekend.  Despite the rain, we had a great turnout!

Tim


YOUNG BIRDERS SHINE IN ANNUAL BIRDING COMPETITION

MANSFIELD, Ga. (April 24, 2010) - Saturday’s rains did not dampen the
spirit or skill of about 130 children and teens who took part in the
2010 Youth Birding Competition.

The Chaotic Kestrels, a team of 12-year-olds Ethan Hatchett of Jackson
and C.J. Armour and Daven Hayes of Griffin, opened the 24-hour birdathon
at Jekyll Island Friday evening, waited out a downpour at middle
Georgia’s Rum Creek Wildlife Management Area early Saturday and
finished at Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center near Mansfield by the 5 p.m.
deadline.

Their highlights included a grasshopper sparrow, a painted bunting and
100 species in all. “We did much better than last year!” Ethan said,
grinning.

Better indeed. The team led the middle school division, one of four in
the annual event. Fantastic Flycatchers of Macon, a high school team,
won the overall competition with 148 species.

The fifth annual Youth Birding Competition, sponsored by the Georgia
Department of Natural Resources and The Environmental Resources Network
Inc., fielded some 130 participants ages 6-18, plus team leaders. The
birders, from newcomers to veterans, saw or heard 184 species and raised
$2,300 for conservation groups. The maximum number of bird species in
Georgia at this time of year is about 200.

The statewide competition is focused on cultivating a deep interest in
wildlife and conservation. Teams count as many bird species as possible
from 5 p.m. Friday to 5 p.m. Saturday. The event closes with a banquet
and awards ceremony at the DNR Wildlife Resources Division’s Charlie
Elliott Wildlife Center.

Organizer Tim Keyes, a wildlife biologist with the DNR Nongame
Conservation Section, said considering the rain the number of species
documented was remarkable. “It’s remarkable in perfect weather,” Keyes
added.

The list included a whimbrel spotted - and photographed - at West Point
Lake, only the fourth or fifth known sighting of the shorebird inland in
Georgia, Giff Beaton said.

Other division winners were:

** Elementary - Eagle Maniacs from Alpharetta (101 species).

** Pre-elementary - Cute Chicks from Blairsville (56 species).

The leading teams in fundraising, a voluntary part of the competition,
included:

** Fantastic Flycatchers, raising $517.

** Country Cuckoos from Bainbridge ($505).

** Birding Brothers from LaGrange ($491).

The money goes to conservation groups chosen by the teams.

The leading rookie, or first-year, teams were:

** High school - G-Gnat II from Rome.

** Middle school - Mobbing Mockingbirds from Duluth.

** Elementary - Eagle Maniacs from Alpharetta.

** Pre-elementary - Cowbirds from Monticello.

The Country Cuckoos won the birding journal category.

The Youth Birding Competition T-shirt art contest fielded 90 entries.
Jess Milner’s detailed painting of a great blue heron in a wetland with
two red-winged blackbirds took the blue ribbon. Milner, a senior from
Darlington Upper School in Rome, also won last year.

The winning artwork was printed on event T-shirts and earned Milner a
$100 gift card to Michaels. Milner told art contest organizer Linda May,
the Nongame Conservation Section’s environmental outreach coordinator,
that the painting took “about a week” - his spring break. He also said
he will probably pursue art interests at his next school: the University
of Georgia.

The three other art division winners - second-grader Gracie Black and
third-grader Kirkley Holifield of Piedmont Academy and home-schooled
eighth-grader Anna Hamilton of Clarkesville - each received a $50 gift
card for supplies at Michaels, an arts and crafts outlet.

Keyes said next year’s Youth Birding Competition will again be in late
April.

The Flying Penguins will be there. The five-member team from Covington -
siblings Peter, AnGowsack - counted fewer birds than in 2009 but had a wonderful, if wet,
time.

“It’s a great family thing,” said the Collarts’ father, Dave.

Awards for the teams varied from binoculars to field guides donated by
event supporters such as Eagle Optics, Atlanta Audubon Society, Wild
Bird Centers, Georgia Ornithological Society and TERN.

Keyes and expert birders Giff Beaton, Bob Sargent of the Georgia
Ornithological Society, Charlie Muise of the Important Bird Areas
Program served as judges. Keyes started the competition in 2006 with
help from TERN and a desire to engage upcoming generations in birding
and wildlife conservation. TERN is the friends group of the Nongame
Conservation Section.

Buying a nongame wildlife license plate or making a donation via the
Georgia Wildlife Conservation Fund state income tax checkoff supports
this and other conservation education efforts in Georgia. Sales of the
bald eagle/American flag and ruby-throated hummingbird license plates
provide vital funding for the Nongame Conservation Section, which
receives no state funding.


2010 YOUTH BIRDING COMPETITION RESULTS

Pre-elementary division (pre-K-2nd grade)

1. Cute Chicks, Blairsville - 56 species

2. Cowbirds, Monticello (also division-best rookie team) - 15 species


Elementary division (3rd-5th)

1. Eagle Maniacs, Alpharetta (also division-best rookie team) - 101
species

2. Team Swift, Temple - 93 species

3. The Wood Thrushes, Atlanta- 80 species

4. Willing Whip-poor-wills, LaGrange - 66 species


Middle school division (6th-8th)

1. Chaotic Kestrels, Jackson - 100 species

2. Night Owls, Monticello - 71 species

3. Mobbing Mockingbirds, Duluth (also division-best rookie team) - 67
species


High school division

1. Fantastic Flycatchers, Macon - 148 species

2. Country Cuckoos, Bainbridge - 144 species

3. Homeschool Hummers, Suwanee - 140 species

(Division-best rookie team: G-Gnat II.)


T-SHIRT ART CONTEST WINNERS

** Primary (pre-K-2nd grade): painted bunting, Gracie Black of
Hillsboro, Piedmont Academy.

** Elementary (3rd-5th): barn owl Kirkley Holifield of Mansfield,
Piedmont Academy.

** Middle school (6th-8th): brown-headed nuthatch of Clarkesville, Anna
Hamilton, homeschool.

** High school and grand prize: great blue heron, Jess Milner of Rome,
Darlington Upper School.

                            **********
To search GABO-L archives or manage your subscription, go to
http://www.listserv.uga.edu/archives/gabo-l.html

To contact a listowner, send message to
GABO-L-request@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU

To view GABO-L information/guidelines, go to
http://www.gos.org/gabo.html