The Twitchers Go Viral in 2021!
Each January the “Twitchers” take part in an annual competition called the Superbowl of Birding, but 2021 will be a little different, thanks to COVID-19. Run by Mass Audubon’s Joppa Flats Education Center, the re-named Semi-Superbowl of Birding will happen on January 30, 2021. It will still involve looking for as many species as possible in 12 hours in Essex County, MA and/or Rockingham County, NH.
The “Twitchers” will still be competing for the Townie Award, but will have to split up because teams must be in the same vehicle and made up of people in your “bubble” (2021 rules allow teams of 1-7 people). There will be three Twitcher teams, each with their own team name and town (in New Hampshire of course).
Becky Suomala will be the “Townie Solitaire” (aka The Lone Twitcher) as a team of one in Seabrook. Pam Hunt is coming out of retirement to form the team “Birding with Impunity” with Unity Dienes in the Twitchers’ home town of Rye. Susan Wrisley will team up with Jenna Pettipas as “Twitch-n-Dip” in Hampton, NH. Each team will be in a different town so competition for the Townie Award will be fierce.
The Twitcher teams are accepting pledges, which go to support New Hampshire Bird Records and NHeBird and you can pledge towards any and all teams. Pledges can be per species, per point (rare species earn more points), per team; they can be creative or a flat amount. Here are some ideas:
- Pledge an amount per species or per point for your favorite team
- Pledge an amount per species or per point for the combined list of all three teams
- Pledge an amount per species found by all teams
- Add a bonus for each species totally new for the past Twitchers
- Add a bonus for any warbler or owl found by any team
- Add a bonus for a 5-point species found by your favorite team
Click here to read more and to pledge online. This page also contains summaries of the Twitchers’ results since 2009.
For information on how to subscribe to New Hampshire Bird Records: https://nhbirdrecords.org/subscribe-and-support-nh-bird-records/subscribe-and-support-nh-bird-records/
or go directly to the on-line subscription page: http://nh-audubon-nature-store.myshopify.com/collections/nh-bird-records-subscription/products/new-hampshire-bird-records-subscription