16 teams braved the challenge, with teams hailing from Strathspey, Inverness, Glen Urquhart, Cawdor, The Black Isle, Dingwall, Rum and Eigg.
With teams gaining an extra 3 points if they included someone under 30, there were a record number of ‘young persons’ taking part. 7 teams benefited from these bonus points.
Teams planned their own route and stayed out as long as they liked, so long as they remained in the Highland recording area. In a spirit of camaraderie (as opposed to competitiveness) we set up a whats app group for the day so that folk could keep in touch with photos and locations of birds seen. Several teams bumped into each other at the local birding hotspots to share biscuits, but this was clearly impossible for our island teams on Rum and Eigg who could possibly have waved to each other across the Sound of Rum!
C:\Users\Carol\Documents\birds\SOC\Bird race\SOC Highland Winter Bird Race 2024 Total Birds.docx
The Strathspey Four (part of flock) (Sue Sykes) |
Special mention to W Coast birders on Rum & Eigg who got top scores of 41 and 40 birds, The Eigg Dippers of Norah Barnes, John Chester, Bob & Logan Wallace, just nudging ahead with 3 bonus points.
Best Team Name – Happy Smew Years, Alison Fraser & Robert Urquhart
Best Bird – Snow Goose, seen by several teams
Bogey Bird – House Sparrow, NOT seen by Al and Jenny McNee
Most birds per mile travelled – The Snipers on Rum, Sean & Ali Morris
Best photo – Long-tailed duck by Josh Allan
A fun day out!
Carol Miller