20th annual Kiptopeke Challenge

The 20th annual Kiptopeke Challenge, a birding competition and fund-raising event, was held this past Saturday, September 20th. Nine different teams competed in three different categories. The hawkwatch platform team, the Platform Poachers, consisting of Zak Poulton and myself counted a total of 68 species between the Kiptopeke State Park hawkwatch platform and Ramp Lane at the Eastern Shore National Wildlife Refuge. Unfortunately, it was very windy on the hawkwatch making it nearly impossible to hear flight calls of fly-over birds.

The 55 species counted from the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch:
Brown Pelican
Double-Crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Black Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Killdeer
Rock Pigeon
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Royal Tern
Forster's Tern
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Red-eyed Vireo
American Crow
Fish Crow
Eastern Kingbird
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Northern Parula
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Pine Warbler
American Redstart
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird

13 Additional species from Ramp Lane:
American Black Duck
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-heron
Yellow-crowned Night-heron
Clapper Rail
Greater Yellowlegs
Willet

The winners are still to be announced.

~Katie