Monday 9 January 2017

The Michael Clegg Memorial Birdrace 2017

This annual event, in memory of the late Barnsley naturalist is held in early January to raise funds for conservation projects in Yorkshire. Teams from all around Yorkshire spend the day recording as many bird species as possible in their chosen recording areas and the 'winners' are the team who record most on the day. This year, three teams covering the Barnsley recording area took part, two had free reign to travel within the boundaries and one stuck to the Lower Dearne Valley (chiefly Old Moor) and saved valuable time not travelling in the vehicle.
The two 'travelling' teams scored totals of 92 and 87 respectively whilst the Dearne Valley team recorded a magnificent 90 in their relatively small area. Highlights from the day included;- White-fronted Goose, Pintail, Jack Snipe, Mediterranean Gull, Glaucous Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Ring-necked Parakeet, Cettis Warbler, Bearded Tit, Crossbill.
The three teams between them recorded a total of 106 species and other species recorded on the day but not by the three teams included;- Bittern, Iceland Gull, Waxwing, Dipper, Chiffchaff and Raven,
A minimum of 112 species were recorded in the Barnsley area on the day, probably a record for any day in January, ever.

The highest scorers in the whole event were a team in the York area who recorded 105 species, closely followed by the Goole area with 98 species. A total of 18 teams took part and are raising money to help the 'Yorkshire Twite Recovery Project' this year.

1 comment:

Cliff Gorman said...

Congratulations to everyone who took part