2008
Break-a-Hundred Results: Every Team Wins!  6/16/08
Our 2008 Break-a-Hundred event was great fun and a success
by any measure. For the first time ever, all six of the
participating teams not only "broke a hundred" but did
even better than that: every team found at least 110
kinds of birds in the county! The two winning teams
(it was a tie) each found "only" 118 species, so there
was a difference of only 8 species between the shortest
and the longest lists. A total of 18 people on six teams
searched in their favorite local places during any 24-hour
period of the May 9 to 11 weekend.
The (tied) Grand Prize goes to the team of Renee Davis
and Marge Gorton who found 118 species, including the only
Brant, Northern Harrier, Least Sandpiper and Eastern Meadowlark
of the weekend. The Co-winners, also with 118 species,
were the team of John Haas, Lance Verderame, Arlene Borko
and Ed Debellevue, who started their day at 3:30 am on
Saturday. They found the only Sora of the event.
An enthusiastic team consisting of Valerie Freer, Mary
Collier, and two upstate visitors, Rick Bunting and Chris
Cumming, found 111 species. Patrick Dechon, who led an
even more enthusiastic team which included Jamie Lo and
Ruth McKeon, found 112 kinds. Another team with 112 species
consisted of John Haas, Bill Fiero, Lance Verderame, and
California visitor Ed DeBellevue. They searched all day
Sunday, and found 7 unique species: the only Hooded Merganser,
Cooper's Hawk, Pectoral Sandpiper, Bonaparte's Gull, Worm-eating
Warbler, Hooded Warbler, and Golden-winged Warbler of the
event. They also found a bonus Lawrence's Warbler (a hybrid).
This team found the most warblers, 23 species, and therefore
win the "2008 Warbler Prize." (Most other
teams found only 17 kinds.)
The 6th team, sometimes called the "Gourmet Birders,"
consisted of Kathy Scullion, Beth Barker and guest David
Lemmon (plus Scott Graber for a few hours). They came up
with 110 species, including the only American Pipits of
the weekend.
When the lists were all tallied and combined, we came up
with a grand total of 148 species, the second highest we
have ever found (tied with 2005 and topped only by 151
species last year).
At the countdown dinner there was talk of re-naming this
event to "Break-a-110." After due consideration, we agreed
not to make the change, since even at that level, every
team would still be a winner.
 Valerie
Freer
2007
Break-a-Hundred Results: New High Numbers
A total of 16 people participated in our annual peak of
spring migration count on May 12 & 13, coming up with
record-breaking results. Each of the six teams went to
their favorite bird spots in the county during a 24-hr
period of their choice, keeping a list of the kinds of
birds they encountered.
The winning team of John Haas, Lance Verderame and Arlene
Borko came up with 131 species, a new high for this event,
beating out the previous high of 130 species found twice
before: in 1998 (Scott Graber’s team) and 2005 (Renee
Davis’ team). Their winning strategy seems straightforward
enough: they started very early on Saturday (4 am) at the
Bashakill and worked longer than some other teams. It paid
off in a very early Least Bittern, plus a Goshawk, Hooded
Merganser, Snipe, Ring-necked Duck, Mourning Warbler, and
White-crowned Sparrow–all missed by the other teams.
Scott Graber’s team of Kathy Scullion, Beth Barker,
Bill Cutler, and Tim Redman found 120
species, including the only Black Vulture, Cerulean and
Worm-eating Warblers, and an amazing Snow Bunting! Renee
Davis and Marge Gorton found the only Brant, Meadowlark,
Black Tern, and Red-shouldered Hawk, tying with the
Collier/Freer/Dechon/Bunting team at 114 species. The latter
team was the only one to find a Bay-breasted Warbler, and
they had the largest list of warblers, 23.
John Haas and Lance Verderame competed as another team
again on Sunday (now called the “Tired Team”),
and their total was 104 species. They added a Northern
Harrier to the composite list. The “Ruth” team
of Shursky/McKeon found a very respectable 84 species on
Saturday and contributed the only Black-billed Cuckoo to
the list.
When we tallied the combined list for the weekend, we had
a grand total of 151 species, topping the previous high
of 148 species in 2005. We had very good weather, we are
learning more about the best places to find birds in Sullivan
County, and our skills are improving!
Valerie
Freer
Break-a-Hundred
Report - 2006
May 12th through the14th this year had us on the edge of
our seats. Not often do we have to deal with cool weather
with the threat of showers for our annual May event. This
year we had both. Temperatures ranged from the high 40s to
the middle 60s with cloud cover and drizzle most of the time.
That didn’t stop us though, fifteen of us managed to
find many birds that just migrated in the night before. We
did not find high numbers of birds but were able to find many
species.
Ruth McKeon and Ruth Shursky found the only Northern Harrier,
Merlin, Snow Goose and Pine Siskin in the county that weekend.
My teammates Arlene Borko, Phyllis Jones and John Haas found
the only Lesser Yellowlegs, Cedar Waxwing, Cape May Warbler,
Meadowlark, and Orchard Oriole. Valerie Freer, Mary Collier,
Jamie Lo, and Patrick Dechon had the only Hooded Merganser
and Kestral. John Haas along with Jane and Bill Fiero found
a Willow Flycatcher, a Purple Martin, Marsh Wren, Mourning
Warbler and a Lincoln’s Sparrow. Scott Graber, Kathy
Scullion and Beth Barker found a Pied-billed Grebe, Dunlin,
a Barred Owl, Winter Wren, Brown Thrasher, and a Cerulean
Warbler.
The five teams clocked 828 miles among them. With the price
of gas these days that was an expense we never had to face
before. Ouch! Our grand total of species was 148, not bad
considering that migration seemed to be a little later than
usual. Team “Ruth” ended up finding 72 species,
team Freer found 110 species, team Haas found 117, team Davis
found 118 and the million dollar winning team---with only
two hours of sleep---Scott, Kathy and Beth with 118 species.
Congratulations, the check’s in the mail!
Renee
Davis
Break-a-Hundred
Report - 2005
Once again SCAS held our annual "Break-a-100" Day
in mid-May, and the weekend seemed to perfectly coincide with
the peak of migration. Four teams searched the county to find
as many kinds of birds as possible, and all came up with outstanding
results.
The combined total for all teams (148 species) set a new
record for Sullivan County, beating the previous record of
146 species set in 1994 (and tied in 1996).
For the first time, every team not only "Broke-a-100"
but had high enough numbers to have been the winner in most
previous years. For example, John Haas and Arlene Borko found
119 kinds on Saturday, which was high enough to have beaten
every other team in four of the last five years! The gourmet
group (Scott Graber, Kathy Scullion, Beth Barker and Pete
Salmonsohn) came up with 125 species on Saturday; John Haas,
Arlene Borko & Bill Fiero found 128 on Sunday; and the
team of Renee Davis, Valerie Freer, Phyllis Jones and Ruth
Shursky found 130, winning the event and the coveted "Break-a-100"
trophy. (Their list of 130 species was not a new record; it
tied the record set by Scott Graber's team in 1998.)
We think that the numbers found in this event keep inching
upward because our birding skills have improved and we have
learned of more great places to look in the county, and besides,
we are just lucky. The best finds of the event included Lincoln's
and Grasshopper Sparrows, Acadian and Olive-sided Flycatchers,
Black Tern, Sora, Saw-whet Owl, Semipalmated Plover, and 26
kinds of warblers!
Valerie
Freer
BIG
DAY CONTEST WINNERS - 2004
Our annual “Break-a-100" was held once again during
the weekend of May 15-16. Four teams were in the field
searching for every kind of bird they could find in the county.
The winning team with 112 species was led by Scott Graber.
His team (the “Gourmet Gobblers”) enjoys fine
snacking while birding; their menu this year included the
traditional vegetarian and crab sushi, black bean dip on onion
flatbread, organic fruit spritzers, brownies with peanut butter,
and other international treats. It is easy to see why
so many people want to be on this team.
We have a dynasty here! Scott and his team have won
the coveted “Break-a-100" trophy in 10 out of the
last 12 years. His total this year was low compared
to other years, but still was one more than the next team.
Scott has led many different team members over the years.
This year the team included Beth Barker, Kathy Scullion, John
Stowell, Pete Salmansohn, and Bob Andreucci.
The combined total for all teams was 136 species, the second
lowest compared to other years. Scott’s team found
23 species of warblers including the only Bay-breasted, Nashville,
and Worm-eating. John Haas and Bill Fiero added Hooded
and Canada to make a total of 25 warblers. (Every team
was able to find the Kentucky Warbler at Stonefields.)
We looked at the cumulative species list for the past 12
years and found that it now contains 189 species. Three
new species were added to that list this year: Semipalmated
Plover, Semipalmated Sandpiper, and Hooded Warbler–all
found by the John Haas/Bill Fiero team.
Other participants were Renee Davis, Valerie Freer, Dick
Hirschman, Phyllis Jones, and Ruth Shursky.
Valerie
Freer
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