I'm in for Addison County, Chris.  I'm working on identifying the sponsoring
organization, but I have no doubt that we'll have one.  Addison County
birders and those who bird in Addison County ... we're in this.  As Chris
says, let's get out there and find some birds.

Steve Trombulak



On 1/9/11 12:11 PM, "Chris Rimmer" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Birders from across Vermont (and anywhere else) are encouraged to
> participate in the 2011 Vermont County Birding Quest, which has evolved
> from a homegrown 3-county affair to a statewide 'competition'.
> Originally envisioned as a friendly rivalry among the adjoining counties
> of Windsor, Orange and Washington
> http://vtecostudies.blogspot.com/2011/01/vermont-county-birding-quest-takes.ht
> ml, 
> VCE and the North Branch Nature Center (NBNC) are pleased (after subtle
> pressure from a few of you) to open this up and invite all counties to
> join the fray.  Following 2010's successful and fun Norwich 2010 Birding
> Quest, all Vermont counties are welcome to engage in this friendly (but
> serious!) competition for the highest species total.
> 
> For the original 3 Quest counties, we believe 200 species is entirely
> within reach, and each is off to a good start
> http://www.vtecostudies.org/quest/birdreport.html, though it will hard
> to top Washington County's Northern Hawk Owl.  If other counties join
> in, we will have to retroactively develop weighting criteria,
> effectively a 'par system', to level the laying field among counties.
> None of us us eastern or central Vermont counties stand a chance against
> the heavyweight Champlain Valley bruisers on raw species totals alone!
> 
> The Vermont County Quest is a work in progress, but a few ground rules
> will be necessary, including:
> 
>     * each county must have an organization that sponsors their Quest.
>       We will have an actual County Quest Cup at the end of the year,
>       and that will reside proudly with the winning county's sponsoring
>       group during the following year.
>     * each county will need to designate at least 2 captains as point
>       people for their Quest:
>       http://www.vtecostudies.org/quest/countycaptains.html
>     * all birds counted must be identified while the observer(s) is
>       physically within the county limits
>     * Vermont eBird http://ebird.org/content/vt will be the official
>       tool by which species are tallied on the master list for each
>       county.  Species not entered on eBird can not be counted.  Birders
>       who lack access to eBird will need to find some means of having
>       their records entered.
>     * there will be a variety of 'prizes' in different categories,
>       including the overall County Cup winner, the individual with the
>       highest species total for a single county, the individual with the
>       greatest number of eBird checklists submitted for a single county,
>       and similar awards within each county.  There may be others too.
>       For the record, prizes are unlikely to consist of large cash
>       awards...
> 
> VCE will maintain a web page for the County Quest
> http://www.vtecostudies.org/quest/.  This site is still under
> construction, but will be updated regularly throughout the year.  Our
> birding colleagues at North Branch Nature Center are spearheading the
> Washington County Quest, so stay tuned as well to their web page
> http://www.northbranchnaturecenter.org/waco/.
> 
> The main idea behind the Quest is to get people out birding, promote
> camaraderie, and better document Vermont's bird life.  We encourage each
> county that participates to organize periodic outings for the
> birding-interested public.
> 
> The bell has rung, the gloves are down, let the competition begin!  Get
> out there, find some birds, and enter them all on Vermont eBird.
> 
> Chris