Hi Bill – Indeed, the addition of new species to a hotspot list will be a wonderful extra benefit of our ‘garden harvest’! The under-birded spots in particular will end up with some new species for the hotspot list. Folks are welcome to announce any new species found if they wish, but so far I have at least 10 participating gardens and keeping track of new hotspot additions weekly would be a bit of work for me. Perhaps I will post new birds found at the conclusion of our little competition! One clarification: The hotspots can be birded by anyone with an interest in exploring these places. The birds they find will automatically be added to the hotspot list when they use eBird. This is an attempt to increase our birding footprint in Connecticut and to raise awareness about the importance of natural areas across our state. I am excited that many birders are embracing this idea! Chuck Imbergamo CT Birds Moderator Madison > On Sep 30, 2024, at 12:20 PM, Bill Rankin <rankinbill@hotmail.com> wrote: >  > > > A fun idea — thanks, Chuck! > > The proposal got a few of us New Haven/Hamden birders—Kimberly Jannarone, Molly Zahn, Peter Grund, and me—thinking about some under-birded gardens nearby, and we're wondering if the challenge could include TWO tallies: > > One would be the total number of species seen at a hotspot. The other would be the number of NEW species added to a hotspot for the first time. The first will encourage folks to get out to great sites like Allen’s, Bauer, and Woodbridge; the second would encourage folks to explore smaller sites will good potential (like, near us, the Yale Farm and Farnam Gardens, or the community garden at Edgerton Park). And the record-keeping should be just as easy through eBird for both. > > We’re of course open to any friendly amendments or other ideas. > > Hooray for fall! > Bill Rankin > New Haven > > > > From: Frank Mantlik via CTBirds <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> > Sent: Monday, September 30, 2024 10:52 > To: Maria Stockmal <m.stockmal@snet.net> > Cc: Chuck Imbergamo <imbercj@comcast.net>; CT Bird Report <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> > Subject: [CT Birds] Re: Community garden ‘harvest’ > > That’s a great idea, Chuck. Many towns have community Gardens. And uncommon/rare birds can be found in inland or coastal communities. I’ll be covering the Stratford Community Garden. > > Frank Mantlik > > Sent from my iPhone > > > On Sep 30, 2024, at 10:40 AM, Maria Stockmal via CTBirds <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote: > > > >  > > I will be canvassing the Ansonia Nature Center Community Gardens > > > > Sent from my iPhone > > Maria Stockmal > > > >> On Sep 30, 2024, at 10:13 AM, C Wood via CTBirds <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote: > >> > >> Cool idea Chuck, thanks. I’ll offer a free COA hat to the winner if you wish. > >> > >> Chris > >> > >> Chris Wood > >> President - Connecticut Ornithological Association > >> > >> Woodbury, CT > >> 203 558-0654 > >> > >> > >> > >> > >>>> On Sep 29, 2024, at 7:30 PM, Chuck Imbergamo via CTBirds <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote: > >>> > >>> CT Birders - > >>> > >>> Most of us have heard of Allen’s Meadow in Wilton, Woodbridge Community Gardens or Bauer Farm in Madison. These areas include community gardens and they are all great places to see migratory birds in the Fall. Which got me thinking… > >>> > >>> For the month of October, let’s have a friendly competition at our local community garden hotspots to see which one produces the most species! > >>> > >>> All you need to do is bird at your local community garden hotspot to see how many species you can find. Record your birds in eBird and be sure to use the hotspot (and not a personal location) so the birds can be tallied. At the end of each week in October, I will post the total number of species found at each participating hotspot. > >>> > >>> Who is up for it?! Will Allen’s beat Bauer?! Will Woodbridge win?! What other community gardens are out there with birds just waiting to be found?! > >>> > >>> Anyone with a local community garden-containing hotspot - please join in the fun! Reply to this post to let everyone know that you are up for the challenge, and I will add your hotspot to the tally. During October, bird the area as much as you can-and let us know what you find. > >>> > >>> Let’s harvest some birds! > >>> > >>> Chuck Imbergamo > >>> CT Birds Moderator > >>> Madison > >>> > >>> Fine print: You must use eBird and the hotspot to record your birds. Birds must be accepted by our eBird reviewers to count - no baloney! :) Follow all local rules, regulations and the ABA code of ethics, as always. > >>> > >>> To subscribe or unsubscribe via email, send an email with just "join" or "leave" in the subject or body to: ctbirds-request@lists.ctbirding.org > >>> > >>> CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing birders together statewide. Please support COA: https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/ > >>> > >>> CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For list rules and subscription information visit: https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/ > >> > >> > >> To subscribe or unsubscribe via email, send an email with just "join" or "leave" in the subject or body to: ctbirds-request@lists.ctbirding.org > >> > >> CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing birders together statewide. Please support COA: https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/ > >> > >> CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For list rules and subscription information visit: https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/ > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via email, send an email with just "join" or "leave" in the subject or body to: ctbirds-request@lists.ctbirding.org > > > > CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing birders together statewide. Please support COA: https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/ > > > > CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For list rules and subscription information visit: https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/ > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via email, send an email with just "join" or "leave" in the subject or body to: ctbirds-request@lists.ctbirding.org > > CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing birders together statewide. Please support COA: https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/ > > CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For list rules and subscription information visit: https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/

Hi Chuck, Thanks for organizing this friendly birding competition. And I particularly like the clarification you just noted. That Community Garden hotspots can be birded by anyone and the birds they find will be added to that hotspot from eBird. As someone who travels around Connecticut, this will give an opportunity to visit some new garden hotspots and also re-visit some favorites. Adam Fasciolo Norwalk > On Sep 30, 2024, at 1:49 PM, Chuck Imbergamo via CTBirds <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote: > > Hi Bill – > > Indeed, the addition of new species to a hotspot list will be a wonderful extra benefit of our ‘garden harvest’! The under-birded spots in particular will end up with some new species for the hotspot list. > > Folks are welcome to announce any new species found if they wish, but so far I have at least 10 participating gardens and keeping track of new hotspot additions weekly would be a bit of work for me. Perhaps I will post new birds found at the conclusion of our little competition! > > One clarification: The hotspots can be birded by anyone with an interest in exploring these places. The birds they find will automatically be added to the hotspot list when they use eBird. This is an attempt to increase our birding footprint in Connecticut and to raise awareness about the importance of natural areas across our state. > > I am excited that many birders are embracing this idea! > > Chuck Imbergamo > CT Birds Moderator > Madison > >> On Sep 30, 2024, at 12:20 PM, Bill Rankin <rankinbill@hotmail.com> wrote: >>  >> >> >> A fun idea — thanks, Chuck! >> >> The proposal got a few of us New Haven/Hamden birders—Kimberly Jannarone, Molly Zahn, Peter Grund, and me—thinking about some under-birded gardens nearby, and we're wondering if the challenge could include TWO tallies: >> >> One would be the total number of species seen at a hotspot. The other would be the number of NEW species added to a hotspot for the first time. The first will encourage folks to get out to great sites like Allen’s, Bauer, and Woodbridge; the second would encourage folks to explore smaller sites will good potential (like, near us, the Yale Farm and Farnam Gardens, or the community garden at Edgerton Park). And the record-keeping should be just as easy through eBird for both. >> >> We’re of course open to any friendly amendments or other ideas. >> >> Hooray for fall! >> Bill Rankin >> New Haven >> >> >> >> From: Frank Mantlik via CTBirds <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> >> Sent: Monday, September 30, 2024 10:52 >> To: Maria Stockmal <m.stockmal@snet.net> >> Cc: Chuck Imbergamo <imbercj@comcast.net>; CT Bird Report <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> >> Subject: [CT Birds] Re: Community garden ‘harvest’ >> >> That’s a great idea, Chuck. Many towns have community Gardens. And uncommon/rare birds can be found in inland or coastal communities. I’ll be covering the Stratford Community Garden. >> >> Frank Mantlik >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >>>> On Sep 30, 2024, at 10:40 AM, Maria Stockmal via CTBirds <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote: >>> >>>  >>> I will be canvassing the Ansonia Nature Center Community Gardens >>> >>> Sent from my iPhone >>> Maria Stockmal >>> >>>> On Sep 30, 2024, at 10:13 AM, C Wood via CTBirds <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote: >>>> >>>> Cool idea Chuck, thanks. I’ll offer a free COA hat to the winner if you wish. >>>> >>>> Chris >>>> >>>> Chris Wood >>>> President - Connecticut Ornithological Association >>>> >>>> Woodbury, CT >>>> 203 558-0654 >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>>> On Sep 29, 2024, at 7:30 PM, Chuck Imbergamo via CTBirds <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> CT Birders - >>>>> >>>>> Most of us have heard of Allen’s Meadow in Wilton, Woodbridge Community Gardens or Bauer Farm in Madison. These areas include community gardens and they are all great places to see migratory birds in the Fall. Which got me thinking… >>>>> >>>>> For the month of October, let’s have a friendly competition at our local community garden hotspots to see which one produces the most species! >>>>> >>>>> All you need to do is bird at your local community garden hotspot to see how many species you can find. Record your birds in eBird and be sure to use the hotspot (and not a personal location) so the birds can be tallied. At the end of each week in October, I will post the total number of species found at each participating hotspot. >>>>> >>>>> Who is up for it?! Will Allen’s beat Bauer?! Will Woodbridge win?! What other community gardens are out there with birds just waiting to be found?! >>>>> >>>>> Anyone with a local community garden-containing hotspot - please join in the fun! Reply to this post to let everyone know that you are up for the challenge, and I will add your hotspot to the tally. During October, bird the area as much as you can-and let us know what you find. >>>>> >>>>> Let’s harvest some birds! >>>>> >>>>> Chuck Imbergamo >>>>> CT Birds Moderator >>>>> Madison >>>>> >>>>> Fine print: You must use eBird and the hotspot to record your birds. Birds must be accepted by our eBird reviewers to count - no baloney! :) Follow all local rules, regulations and the ABA code of ethics, as always. >>>>> >>>>> To subscribe or unsubscribe via email, send an email with just "join" or "leave" in the subject or body to: ctbirds-request@lists.ctbirding.org >>>>> >>>>> CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing birders together statewide. Please support COA: https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/ >>>>> >>>>> CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For list rules and subscription information visit: https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/ >>>> >>>> >>>> To subscribe or unsubscribe via email, send an email with just "join" or "leave" in the subject or body to: ctbirds-request@lists.ctbirding.org >>>> >>>> CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing birders together statewide. Please support COA: https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/ >>>> >>>> CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For list rules and subscription information visit: https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/ >>> >>> To subscribe or unsubscribe via email, send an email with just "join" or "leave" in the subject or body to: ctbirds-request@lists.ctbirding.org >>> >>> CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing birders together statewide. Please support COA: https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/ >>> >>> CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For list rules and subscription information visit: https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/ >> >> To subscribe or unsubscribe via email, send an email with just "join" or "leave" in the subject or body to: ctbirds-request@lists.ctbirding.org >> >> CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing birders together statewide. Please support COA: https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/ >> >> CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For list rules and subscription information visit: https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/ > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via email, send an email with just "join" or "leave" in the subject or body to: ctbirds-request@lists.ctbirding.org > > CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing birders together statewide. Please support COA: https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/ > > CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For list rules and subscription information visit: https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/