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The Taverner CupAn annual "big day" birding competition in eastern Ontario and western Quebec |
This year 43 participants in 12 teams, 5 competitive and 7 recreational, competed in the 8th Annual Taverner Cup Birding Competition. This corporate-sponsored event was held in eastern Ontario and western Quebec over a 24-hour period on Saturday May 29th.
Participants faced early morning low temperatures in boreal areas but the day turned out mostly sunny with temperatures of about 16C in most areas. A steady strong wind from the northwest played havoc with listening for singing birds.
The all-team species total was 218. Birding highlights included Least Bittern, Snow Goose, Tundra Swan, Bald Eagle, Gray Partridge, Yellow Rail, Sandhill Crane, American Golden Plover, Whimbrel, Hudsonian Godwit, Stilt, Red-necked Phalarope, Forster's Tern, Black-backed Woodpecker, Loggerhead Shrike, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Northern Mockingbird, 27 species of warblers including Palm, Louisiana Waterthrush and Connecticut, Rusty Blackbird and Orchard Oriole.
The "Focus Scientific (Ottawa) Manic Flycatchers", captained by Jeff Skevington of Ottawa, with fellow birders Richard Skevington of Woodstock, and Dan Cliffen of Brockville, won the Taverner Cup with a total of 164 species. The "Wild Birds Unlimited (Ottawa) Great Gray Owls", captained by Jeff Harrison of of Montreal, with fellow birders Roger Taylor of Palgrave and Lance Laviolette of Newton Robinson, placed second with 155. The "Swarovski (Toronto) Cool Chats", captained by Frank Pinilla of Richmond Hill, with fellow birders Norm Murr and Stan Bajurny of Toronto placed third with 145 species. The "Raven-Loon-A-Ticks", sponsored by the PQSPB and the Avian Science and Conservation Centre of McGill University, captained by David Bird of Montreal, placed fourth with 144 species. The "Nature Boutique's (Ottawa) Whisky-Jacks", captained by Gerhard Bruins of Orleans, Ontario, placed fifth with 129 species.
The "Cardenals", captained by Chris Ellingwood of Lindsay, Ontario, with fellow birders Tim Brophy of Lindsay and Greg Jaski of Beaverton, won the recreational category, and the Fothergill Trophy, with an excellent total of 141 species. The "Birdbrains", captained by Dave Britton, with fellow birders Jack Rowanow, Colin Gaskell and Bill Murphy, all of Ottawa, placed second with a total of 140 species. They were awarded the Judith Wilks Memorial Trophy. The "Tweachers", captained by Janet Castle, with fellow birders Marylou Kingsbury, Jill and Barry Perkins, all of Ottawa, finished third with a total of 134 species. Last year's Fothergill trophy winner, the "Fenomenal Fledglings", a team of junior birders aged 10 to 16 from Ottawa, placed fourth with an impressive 132 species. A list of all our teams and their totals will be found below.
About 60 people, including participants, their sponsors, and invited guests, attended the catered Awards Banquet held in Ottawa on Sunday morning May 30th. The Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club (OFNC) and the Fletcher Wildlife Garden hosted the event. David Moore a Past President of the OFNC, was Master of Ceremonies. He presented Jeff Skevington and his team with the Taverner Cup. Dr. David Bird of McGill University presented the Fothergill Trophy to Chris Ellingwood. Joan Molnar of the "Jaywalkers", a close friend of Judith Wilks, presented the Wilks Trophy to Dave Britton.
The banquet was a big success again this year highlighted by a lot of smiling faces, certificates for the winning teams, impromptu speeches, and numerous door prizes.
The final team results for 2004 are as follows.
| COMPETITIVE CLASS | ||
| Sponsor/team name | Captain | No. species |
| Focus Scientific Manic Flycatchers | Jeff Skevington | 164 |
| Wild Birds Unlimited Great Gray Owls | Jeff Harrison | 155 |
| Swarovski Cool Chats | Frank Pinilla | 145 |
| PQSPB/ASCC Raven-Loon-A-Ticks | David Bird | 144 |
| The Nature Boutique Whisky Jacks | Gerhard Bruins | 129 |
| RECREATION CLASS | ||
| Team name | Captain | No. species |
| Cardenals | Chris Ellingwood | 141 |
| Birdbrains | Dave Britton | 140 |
| Tweachers | Janet Castle | 134 |
| Fenomenal Fledglings | Daniele Mitchell | 132 |
| The Red-necked Woodpeckers | Jan Thornhill (Havelock) | 103 |
| The Motherflickers and Dave | Bev McBride (Ottawa) | 94 |
| Jaywalkers | Joan Molnar (Ottawa) | 66 |
The purpose of the Taverner Cup is to raise money for environmental projects and to raise awareness of the great diversity and richness of wildlife habitats in eastern Ontario and western Quebec. This year sponsor money will go to the operations of the OFNC's Fletcher Wildlife Garden in Ottawa, the Innis Point Bird Observatory, the Province of Quebec Society for the Protection of Birds' (PQSPB) Philipsburg Sanctuary, and to the Thickson's Woods Land Trust (Ajax). Additional funds were raised by participants/teams. A preliminary list includes about $1,000 for the Bruce Trail Association (Roger Taylor), $225.00 for the Fletcher Garden and Innis Point Bird Observatory (Fenomenal Fledglings) and $100.00 for the Philipsburg Sanctuary, courtesy of Ken Thorpe, Guillemot Holdings, Montreal, (Bird and Harrison).
The Taverner Cup boundary includes the cities of Montreal, Ottawa and Gatineau and lies just east of Metropolitan Toronto. These cities contain three of the four largest urban populations in Canada. This very accessible, but under-birded part of Ontario/Quebec, has an outstanding range of habitats and migrant traps, and combined with its geographical location, makes it one of the best, if not the best year-around birding area in Canada.
The co-ordinator offers a special thanks to all our corporate sponsors and participating birders whose continued support is making the Taverner Cup a successful birding and fund-raising event. Thanks are also due to our many volunteers, especially Greg Kelly and Susan Barnabe (Compilation and Banquet), Christine Hanrahan (Banquet), Ron Scovell, Toronto (T-shirt shrike graphics), Bob Young (photography) and David Moore. Finally, many thanks to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for providing our attractive banquet facilities, Joe Dafoe of The Nature Boutique for arranging prizes, and Sandra Garland, OFNC webmaster, for maintaining our website. Patronage of our many loyal sponsors would be very much appreciated.
Next year the Taverner Cup will take place on Saturday May 28th.
Last updated: 2 June 2004
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