Tuesday, May 8, 2001

Teaming up in Texas Birding Classic

Contributed photo by Elizabeth Walker

A pair of least turns were spotted among the dozens of other species during the Great Texas Birding Classic.

The Great Texas Birding Classic, a multi-purpose event sponsored by the Texas Parks and Wildlife and Texas Partners in Flight, took place last week during spring migration of birds along the coast. To me the most appealing purpose of the event is to protect birding habitats. Another is to make the birding public aware that more than 600 species of birds have been documented in Texas.
   Teams of birders spend three days counting as many species as they can find. Large cash prizes are contributed by sponsors from many fields. Three to five member teams compete for the privilege of deciding which habitat conservation projects will be funded by the Conservation Cash Grand Prizes.
   V.I.P. team
   I was invited to join what was called a V.I.P. team. We were to spend a half day of heavy counting in a suggested area. V.I.P. teams were composed of a celebrity, such as a mayor of an involved city, two members who were self-declared inexperienced birders and one experienced birder.
   The leader of my group was Elizabeth P. Walker, professional photographer. At the visitor's center at Packery, we saw some of her lovely wildlife photographs. Other members were Ann Neese, my persuader, Maria Davis, Public Relations and Marketing Director for Villa del Sol, and Paul Robertson, Science Director in Wildlife Diversity of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Technically, I was the only birder accustomed to participating in organized bird counts.
   Ann drove a rented van. Our suggested area included Packery Channel County Park and Paradise Pond. Our team had a good name, mainly important for morale. We were the Reddish Egrets.
   We traveled the freeway, a time saver as not too many countable birds fly over freeways.
   Along the causeway we found black-bellied plovers with spring plumage black bellies, and dunlins with black breast spots. These birds had to be admired by veteran and novice alike. Often non-birders have trouble understanding the non-speed necessary to birding or counting, but our driver, Ann, proved to be excellent.
   Keeping the list
   I began keeping the list until a talent surfaced in this matter also. Marie offered to take over, and she did a great job finding the birds on the A.O.U. checklist which is phylogenetic, based on presumed ancestral relationships.
   I wont tell each of the 82 species we saw. Two team members had to see a bird before it could be recorded. We found indigo buntings, scarlet and summer tanagers and the group was fascinated by the incompletely molted tanager which appeared both green and red.
   We were able to spend only a few minutes at Paradise Pond in Port Aransas. By the time we arrived there, it was almost time to start back to count headquarters. The experience was good for all of us. Each team mate contributed, cooperating with the others and apparently finding joy in the birds. Paul proved to have a wicked sense of humor, a highly valued trait in our family.
  

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Phyllis Yochem, a Corpus Christi resident, has studied birds in Texas since 1960.

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