Good year to view rare birds, ‘Big Event’ record broken for species count
Oct 24, 2018 | Community News |
Pictured are Cliff Amos, Bill Blacklege, Brad Jacobs, Dan McCann of Gallatin and Brent Galliard. Four of the birders belong to Audubon chapters, are military veterans, and also belong to Loess Hills Master Naturalists: Mr. McCann belongs to Grand River Audubon out of Chillicothe; Brent Galliard is in the Midland Empire; Cliff Amos and Bill Blackledge are members of the Kansas City Burroughs.
Brad Jacobs, a retired state ornithologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation, has broken the Missouri state record for seeing the most birds in one year during the week of Sept. 17-23 during his Big Year event.
A “Big Year” is a competition among birders to see and/or hear the most birds in a single year, explained Dan McCann of Gallatin, a member of Grand River Audubon out of Chillicothe. A Big Year is based on an honor system. Mr. Jacobs is expected to share his information, the name of the bird and location, even with his competitors.
Mr. Jacobs broke a 19-year-old record, set in 1991 by Tim Barksdale. The record was 314 birds. Mr. Jacobs has seen 316 birds since Oct. 20 and still has to the end of the year to count. He hopes to see another 15 species of birds, around 330.
“It should be noted that in 1991 when Mr. Barksdale was counting birds, there was no internet or cell phones or text messaging like we have today,” says Mr. McCann. “That may be one reason Mr. Jacobs has seen more birds.”
This has been a good year to see rare birds in Missouri, he added. The recent Atlantic hurricanes have thrown the birds off course. For instance, Swan Lake has had three rare birds show up this year, a wood stork, common in Florida, a pomarine jaeger, and a red phalarope.
From 1987 until his retirement Mr. Jacobs has been a wildlife ecologist/ornithologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation. He works on all bird species, conducts training workshops, monitors bird populations, as well as works internationally on securing habitat for migratory birds at stopover sites and on wintering habitats.
He is author of Birds in Missouri. He is a founding and charter member of the board of Audubon Missouri, and has been president and board member of the Columbia Audubon Society for eight years.
The Missouri Master Naturalist program is a community-based natural resource education and volunteer service program for adults, sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation and the University of Missouri Extension.
The Loess Hills Chapter was established in the spring of 2011 and named after the unusual geological formations of loess soil in the region. The word “loess” comes from a German word meaning “loose” and describes the way the soil is blown to its resting place.
