The Big Sittas Big Sit

The observation platform at John Heinz NWR was hopping on Sunday, the day of The Big Sit. The John Heinz NWR BIG SITTAS were one of approximately 240 teams throughout the country officially registered for the one-day event. The Big Sit occurs annually on the second Sunday in October, coinciding with the beginning of National Wildlife Refuge week.

Over a hundred enthuastic BIG SITTAS, from beginning to experienced, participated during the course of a gorgeous day.  Such dedicated team efforts enabled us to find a great number of species.  Ned got on the lone Barn Swallow amid hundreds of Tree and Rough-winged Swallows perched nearby.  Marty found the Brown Thrasher (above) hiding in the grasses down the road.  Hiroshi spotted several warblers and the only Cedar Waxwing of the day.  Deb saw a pair of Savannah Sparrows perched high in the trees.

Bird number 1 was a Great Horned Owl, calling for about a half-hour as we unloaded gear onto the Observation Platform.  Greater Yellowlegs came next, his three-noted call echoing in the pre-dawn darkness.  Our best bird was two Common Nighthawks hawking insects over the impoundment. We did get a sitta, Red-breasted Nuthatch Sitta canadensis, but where was the resident Sitta carolinensis today?

The day’s highlights included a good showing of warblers – Black-throated Blue (above), Black-throated Green, Northern Parula, Blackpoll, and Palm along with the ubiquitous Yellow-rumps.  We saw 7 species of ducks, including Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Gadwall and numerous Wood Ducks.

Raptors were impressive, with Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawks, and American Kestrel.  Jeff saw the mid-afternoon Merlin coming in close to the platform.  Nathanial, a keen birder at just 14 years old, spotted our first Red-tailed Hawk of the day from a long distance away, watching it circle slowly closely.

Bald Eagle (above) sightings were numerous, always bringing excitement to onlookers; two adults and two immatures put on quite a show soaring over the impoundment, landing in the trees and perching atop the tall poles overlooking highway 95.

Denis, Lynn and Ned C. tried without luck to find a Green Heron – surely there were many on the grounds, but we just couldn’t see them.  But they did hear our second-to-last species, a calling Killdeer at 5:40 pm.  Our last species, number 73, was a group of eight Lesser Yellowlegs, who flew over our heads while we were packing up at dusk.  Thank you to everyone that joined us and helped to make this BIG SIT truly a group effort!