An enthusiastic round of applause is in order for our friends on Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Team eBird who put together the most impressive ABA-Area Big Day ever this past Thursday, finding an almost unbelievable 294(!!!) species in a 24 hour period. That absurd total is a full 30 species better than the previous record, set two times by the same group in the two years preceding this one.
Those of us following their effort on their Facebook page and Twitter feeds were eagerly waiting the final tally, and when it did come though, I don't mind saying that it was a literal jaw-dropping moment.
The team credits nearly perfect preperation, logistics, and weather- including a fallout on High Island - to put them not just over the top, but into another dimension.
The full list of species is available here.
Congrats Team eBird! What an incredible accomplishment.
Were all 294 species seen by everyone? The checklist seems to suggest otherwise for birds like American Bittern.
Posted by: Wim van Dam | 04/28/2013 at 12:53 AM
Ah, I just learned about the odd 95% rule; I did not know that.
Posted by: Wim van Dam | 04/28/2013 at 01:01 AM