Big Day Boston 2024 is in the books! What a great day. The weather cooperated, a variety of Warblers were in town, 30+ t-shirts were made, and everyone had a splendid time!
(Scroll down for pictures↓)
I love Big Day Boston! It love to get excited about seeing a Blue Jay!
- Big Day Boston birder
Collectively, participants observed a whopping 66 species and the winning checklist had 37 species on it. Once again, the crown for most species observed goes to Ingrid Messbauer (iemess on eBird - login required)!
Messbauer scouted the Public Garden yesterday and noted that there were even more Warblers around then and that maybe the wind kept them away today. Either way, it was a tremendous day for all the birders and teams!
Second place went to newcomer Patrick Fellion who saw 31 species including an early Spotted Sandpiper bobbing on the island by Community Boating. Like second place, third place went to other first-time Big Day Boston participants Preston and Abigail who saw a straggling Dark-eyed Junco in the Public Garden.
Of note:
- 66 species observed.
- 75% of checklists had at least 19 species.
- 50% of checklists had at least 23 species.
- 30% of checklists had at least 26 species.
- Nearly all participants saw the three common species of Gulls (Greater Black-backed, Herring, and Ring Billed) and everyone saw a Double-crested Cormorant! A recent Herring run and die-off in the Harbor brought droves of Gulls and Cormorants - and even a Bald Eagle - into the inner harbor.
- Birders saw seven Warbler species (Black-and-white Warbler, Common Yellow-throat, Northern Parula, Palm Warbler [one who visited us right on Copp's Hill], Yellow-rumped Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Nashville Warbler) - largely between the Public Garden and Post Office Square.
Results
(Google Sheet with full results↗):
| place | username | species |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | iemess | 37 |
| 2 | pfellion | 31 |
| 3 | preston | 30 |
| 3 | gofeet1825 | 30 |
| 5 | Team AB Birders | 26 |
| 5 | Mass Young Birders | 26 |
| 5 | KSmith | 26 |
| 5 | Mksprintz | 26 |
| 5 | a Neighborhood Naturalist | 26 |
| 10 | stevejrowe | 25 |
| 10 | Joe Martin | 25 |
| 10 | kjohns229 | 25 |
| 14 | EspritElise | 24 |
| 13 | daganderin | 23 |
| 13 | mjrice04 | 23 |
| 13 | Arlo / balsama | 23 |
| 17 | rnickc | 22 |
| 18 | Naomi's Club | 21 |
| 18 | Mike Schiano | 21 |
| 18 | farmfreshcarrot | 21 |
| 21 | Jonathan Dain | 20 |
| 21 | Parker | 20 |
| 22 | Toads | 19 |
| 24 | kurtmueller42 | 18 |
| 24 | Mazz | 18 |
| 26 | greilly16 | 17 |
| 27 | Frank | 16 |
| 28 | Watertown Waxwings | 15 |
| 29 | Caroline L | 14 |
| 30 | Bird2and3 | 13 |
| 31 | Bird Searchers | 12 |
Species Checklist count
List of species and count of checklists on which species was counted (not a count of total birds observed)
| Species | Checklist count |
|---|---|
| American Robin | 31 |
| Common Grackle | 31 |
| Double-crested Cormorant | 31 |
| European Starling | 31 |
| Rock Pigeon | 31 |
| House Sparrow | 30 |
| Canada Goose | 29 |
| Herring Gull | 29 |
| Mallard | 29 |
| Great Black-backed Gull | 28 |
| Ring-billed Gull | 28 |
| White-throated Sparrow | 28 |
| Blue Jay | 27 |
| Mourning Dove | 26 |
| Gray Catbird | 20 |
| House Finch | 20 |
| Song Sparrow | 19 |
| Downy Woodpecker | 16 |
| Northern Cardinal | 16 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 16 |
| Red-winged Blackbird | 14 |
| Black-and-white Warbler | 13 |
| Common Loon | 13 |
| Domestic Goose | 11 |
| Black-capped Chickadee | 10 |
| Red-breasted Merganser | 10 |
| Northern Mockingbird | 9 |
| American Crow | 8 |
| American Goldfinch | 8 |
| Chipping Sparrow | 8 |
| Hermit Thrush | 8 |
| Osprey | 6 |
| Yellow-rumped Warbler | 5 |
| Palm Warbler | 4 |
| Bald Eagle | 3 |
| Common Yellowthroat | 3 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 3 |
| Savannah Sparrow | 3 |
| Yellow Warbler | 3 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 2 |
| Chimney Swift | 2 |
| Eastern Towhee | 2 |
| Nashville Warbler | 2 |
| Northern Parula | 2 |
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet | 2 |
| Turkey Vulture | 2 |
| Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | 2 |
| American Black Duck | 1 |
| Blue-headed Vireo | 1 |
| Common Merganser | 1 |
| Common Tern | 1 |
| Dark-eyed Junco | 1 |
| Fox Sparrow | 1 |
| Great-blue Heron | 1 |
| House Wren | 1 |
| Lincoln’s Sparrow | 1 |
| Mute Swan | 1 |
| Purple Finch | 1 |
| Red-breasted Nuthatch | 1 |
| Spotted Sandpiper | 1 |
| Swamp Sparrow | 1 |
| Tree Swallow | 1 |
| Tufted Titmouse | 1 |
| Warbling Vireo | 1 |
| White-breasted Nuthatch | 1 |
| White-crowned Sparrow | 1 |
Thanks everyone. This was really fun to do again!
- Adam and the Big Day Boston team
