Nature Done Wright

Several Yanks competed in the 2004 Big Sit in Northern England.
Credit: Illustration by Chris Archer.

By Jim Wright

Special to The Record | USA TODAY NETWORK – NEW JERSEY

  Looking for something completely different this Sunday? You’re cordially invited to participate in an annual international birding competition at the Celery Farm Nature Preserve in Allendale.

   Every year, birders worldwide participate in an event called the Big Sit to see how many species of birds their team can see from one location in one day. Last year, the winning team did the Big Sit at the Cape May Hawk Watch and tallied an impressive 136 species. They birded the entire 24 hours. (Coffee, anyone?)

   Our ad hoc team, the Celery Stalkers, will look for birds from an observation platform that overlooks the 107-acre preserve’s Lake Appert for a mere 11 hours, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. this Sunday. 

    Volunteers can stop by and help spot birds for as long or as little as they like – and enjoy the fall foliage on their walk to and from the observation platform. The event is strictly B.Y.O.B.: Bring your own binoculars.

  Last year, at the 30th Big Sit at the Celery Farm, birders spotted 57 species, ranging from a bald eagle to a ruby-crowned kinglet.

   This year, I foolishly agreed to helm the Celery Stalkers team. If you’d like to join in the fun, please contact me and let me know what time you’d like to participate, and I’ll provide the details. My email is celeryfarm (at) gmail.com.

   As I mentioned in my column many years ago, I once participated in a Big Sit in northern England. Not to brag, but our team (which included eight Yanks and a few Brits) had quite the showing. We saw an incredible 85 species in 12 hours from a picturesque spot overlooking the North Sea. 

    Before you get too impressed, I should mention that I use the term “we” loosely. My friend Stiles had recruited the top local birders, and they knew the birds and terrain so well that they spotted all 85 species long before any of us Yanks did.

   The locals assigned me to find a Canada Goose. These large and loud waterfowl are often the bane of my existence on this side of the pond, but could I find one on that sunny Sunday? Nope.     

    Many months later, when the results were announced, I learned our team came in fourth out of 122 teams worldwide. It felt like riding the bench while my team won the World Series. Final score: Brits 85, Yanks: Not even a goose egg.

  Field notes:  Even if you’re not Big-Sitting, keep an eye out for birds for the next few weeks. According to BirdCast, a tool developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Colorado State University that forecasts peak fall bird migration periods for U.S. cities, the peak for North Jersey began last Saturday and runs through Nov. 2. 

 The Bird Watcher column appears in The Record every other Thursday.