Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Youth Birding Competition 2012

Left to right: K of CC School, Orville, Wilbur, C of CC School

The Olive Plants boys competed in the Georgia Youth Birding Competition on April 27 & 28, 2012 with two of the Counter-cultural School boys.  In 24 hours, they identified 105 different species!  We are so incredibly proud of them and are so thankful to God for blessing us with a fabulous weekend filled with good weather, lots of birds, and amazing teamwork.  You can read more about the boys' birding adventure at my homeschool blog, Olive Plants.

Listed below are the birds they identified in the order they were found.   Birds 1-7 were spotted in a small town in western Georgia.  Numbers 8-34 were spotted at a Georgia state park- forested, mostly pine trees.  Some of the birds at this location were near a small pond.  The chimney swifts circled the ranger station.  Birds 35-43 were spotted on private property.*  There were several feeders near the house.  The backside of the property was wooded.  The rest of the property contained open, grassy fields.  We were there from 30 minutes before sunset until 15 minutes after sunset.  Birds 44-62 were found at a state park located along a lake.  There are a variety of habitats in this park, and we were there from 15 minutes before sunrise until 8 a.m..  Numbers 63-68 were found at a variety of spots, mostly wooded and close to water.  Numbers 69-86 were found at EL Huie; numbers 87-90 were found at Newman Wetlands; numbers 91-93 were found at Shamrock/Blaylock Lakes- all in Clayton Co. GA.  Numbers 94-95 were found near feeders on private property.*  Numbers 96-100 were located at Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge in central Georgia.  Number 101 was found near a feeder on private property. *  Numbers 102-105 were identified at Charlie Elliot Wildlife Center in Mansfield, GA.



  1. American Crow
  2. Brown Thrasher
  3. Northern Mockingbird
  4. Brown-headed Nuthatch
  5. Blue Jay
  6. Mourning Dove
  7. Red-shouldered Hawk
  8. Summer Tanager
  9. Eastern Towhee
  10. Scarlett Tanager
  11. Black and White Warbler
  12. Northern Cardinal
  13. Carolina Chickadee
  14. Pine Warbler
  15. Mallard
  16. Tufted Titmouse
  17. Hairy Woodpecker
  18. Red-eyed Vireo
  19. Eastern-wood Pewee
  20. Red-bellied Woodpecker
  21. Red-headed Woodpecker
  22. Pileated Woodpecker
  23. Dark-eyed Junco
  24. Carolina Wren
  25. Downy Woodpecker
  26. White-eyed Vireo
  27. Fish Crow
  28. Gray Catbird
  29. Chimney Swift
  30. Worm-eating Warbler
  31. Eastern Bluebird
  32. Chipping Sparrow
  33. White-breasted Nuthatch
  34. Yellow-breasted Chat
  35. Indigo Bunting
  36. Wood Thrush
  37. Eastern Phoebe
  38. Yellow Warbler
  39. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
  40. Field Sparrow
  41. Great Horned Owl
  42. Barred Owl
  43. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
  44. Green Heron
  45. Great Blue Heron
  46. Killdeer
  47. Northern Bobwhite
  48. Brown Creeper
  49. Canada Goose
  50. Common Grackle
  51. Bobolink
  52. Belted Kingfisher
  53. Osprey
  54. Bay-breasted Warbler
  55. Tennessee Warbler
  56. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
  57. Common Loon
  58. Northern Flicker
  59. American Redstart
  60. Prairie Warbler
  61. Black-throated Green Warbler
  62. Yellow-rumped Warbler
  63. American Robin
  64. House Sparrow
  65. Northern Waterthrush
  66. Song Sparrow
  67. European Starling
  68. Black Vulture
  69. Tree Swallow
  70. Purple Martin
  71. Northern Shoveler
  72. Lesser Yellowlegs
  73. Spotted Sandpiper
  74. Red-winged Blackbird
  75. Turkey Vulture
  76. Magnolia Warbler
  77. Chestnut-sided Warbler
  78. Hooded Warbler
  79. Cape May Warbler
  80. Eastern Kingbird
  81. American Coot
  82. Blue-winged Teal
  83. Pied-billed Grebe
  84. Rock Dove
  85. Black-throated Blue Warbler
  86. Common Yellowthroat
  87. Blue-headed Vireo
  88. Cerulean Warbler
  89. American Bittern
  90. Brown-headed Cowbird
  91. Northern Parula
  92. Orchard Oriole
  93. American Woodcock
  94. Eastern Meadowlark
  95. American Goldfinch
  96. Broad-winged Hawk
  97. Blackpoll
  98. Bank Swallow
  99. Kentucky Warbler
  100. Red-cockaded Woodpecker
  101. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
  102. Pine Siskin
  103. Orange-crowned Warbler
  104. Yellow-throated Warbler
  105. Blackburnian Warbler
*We were careful to respect the privacy of others.  We were given the owner's direct permission to bird on private properties or we were on adjacent public property and could hear birds at the nearby private feeders.