WILDSIDE BIG SIT: World Migratory Bird Day

On Saturday, May 9th 2020, we celebrated World Migratory Bird Day and Global Big Day by hosting a Wildside Big Sit. Although our Wildside family is scattered across the globe right now, we’re always connected by our love for birds. We teamed up from a distance on Saturday, counting bird species and birding vicariously through each other’s experiences.

From backyards and local patches on 3 continents, in 4 countries, 23 US states, and 1 US territory, 40+ folks (Wildside guides and clients and friends) counted 479 species of birds!

Just SOME of the Wildside family – Top: Alex Lamoreaux in OR; Sally Ingraham in NM; Roger Neckles in Trinidad; Greg Miller in OH; Melissa Penta and Jon “Cormorant” in NY ~ Bottom: Rudy and Glenn Crawford in Crooked Tree, Belize; Edison Buenaño in Quito, Ecuador; Chris Brown in NJ; Lee Hoy in TX; Christian Hagenlocher in WA; Debbie Beer, and Adrian Binns in PA

Wildside Big Sit location map

Here is a complete list of the bird species we saw, as well as WHERE in the world each species was seen: Wildside Big Sit Total Species List

The Wildside Big Sit ranged from Alaska, down the west coast of the USA, across the southwest, jumping to the midwest and then covering the east coast pretty thoroughly. It went from Florida to Belize, then across the Caribbean to snag Puerto Rico before winding up in Trinidad & Tobago. It concluded on the outskirts of Quito, Ecuador.

Most folks birded their yards for the better part of 12 hours. Almost everyone made new additions to their yard lists and witnessed interesting bird behavior. Some places had tropical sunshine, some had desert winds, some had an unseasonably warm spring day – and for our family in the Northeast, they weathered some extreme cold and even snow flurries. Quite the range!

Some birding highlights are included below.

Baltimore Oriole in the snow of upstate NY – photograph by Melissa Penta

Puerto Rican Lizard Cuckoo filmed by Gabriel Lugo in Puerto Rico

Purple Honeycreeper in Heights of Aripo, Trinidad and Tobago – photograph by Roger Neckles

Gambel’s Quail against the sunrise in NM – photograph by Sally Ingraham

Western Screech-Owl in the Davis Mountains, TX – photograph by Lee Hoy

Female Black-tailed Trainbearer in Valle de los Chillos, Ecuador – photograph by Edison Buenaño

Evening Grosbeak in Marquette, Upper Peninsula, MI – photograph by Skye Haas

Female Vermillion Flycatcher in Crooked Tree, Belize – photograph by Glenn Crawford

Black-throated Green Warbler in Philly, PA – photograph by Adrian Binns

Eastern Bluebird in Kennebunk, ME – photograph by Stephen Ingraham

Be sure to also check out Alex Lamoreaux’s full report on his Klamath Basin Big Day (his “local patch” in southern OR rivaled Rudy and Glenn Crawford who had all of Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary, in Belize, as their “backyard”…!)

Thank you to everyone who participated and made this day of socially distant birding a terrific success. We had a blast birding with you! We will see you next year for World Migratory Bird Day (which hopefully we will get to celebrate in person). Until then!