The Big Sit is this Sunday, Oct 10!

The Big Sit is coming up on Sunday, October 10 and this year I'll be participating again and representing our neighborhood. What is it? The Big Sit is an annual birding event to see how many species of birds you can see or hear from one spot in one day. The spot is a stationary circle 17 feet across, and you have to see or hear all the birds from inside that circle. My circle is going to be on Lake Creek Trail at a bend in the creek by the last dam downstream of the T&C playing fields. The picture above shows the exact spot I picked and clicking on it will take you to a Google map.

Picking the circle is very important. The more kinds of bird habitat you can see from your circle, the more species of birds are possible. My spot has good views of shallow water and deep water, woods, grassland, and open sky. Since I've been birding here I've recorded 91 species of birds just in October, so I'm hoping to see 60 species for the Big Sit, and maybe even 70! (Last year, despite miserable rainy conditions most of the day, we recorded 45 species.)

People all over the country are registering their circles on the Bird Watcher's Digest web site, and so far Texas has the most, including my circle (named "Birding on Broadmeade" of course). You can see them all here. If you'd like to join me, come on out! Stay as long or short as you like. I'll try to be there all day, starting a half hour before dawn to hear owls. Last year I called it quits at 5:00 PM but hopefully this year the weather will be nicer and I'll hold out longer. To get there, just drive to the end of Saddlebrook Trail and park. The sidewalk goes down to the creek and my circle.