Bird Blitz for Fairy Terns

[RussCannings]

Many of you will know that I am partial to the 24-hour birding competition known as the 'big day' or 'twitchathon' etc., where participants race against the clock to see/hear as many species as possible within a day. In December 2016, David Thomas, Dave Howes, Harry Boorman and myself were succesful in setting a New Zealand record with 108 species seen from 2pm to 2pm on a weekend. (See old post for story: http://russellcannings.blogspot.com/201 ... n-for.html)



3 years later, the team has reformed, subbing David Thomas (who had other commitments) for the pelagic maestro and 'possessor of a large van'--Scott Brooks, and we are ready to try for new heights this coming weekend. Last time we raised money for the Hutton's Shearwater Trust in the wake of the Kaikoura earthquake. While far less organised this year, we would love to raise more funds for another worthy cause! Wanting to keep it more specific to our route, this time around we have chosen to pledge all proceeds to the Fairy Tern Trust (http://www.fairytern.org.nz/html/index.htm). Many, if not all of you will know how dire the situation is for this delightful yet endangered NZ species, and I'm sure they would be happy for your support! In this spirit, we will be completing (against ourselves) under the team name of "Robin Woods & his banded Fairy Men"

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How does it work? Well to keep things simple, you can donate directly, or become a member of the trust here: http://www.fairytern.org.nz/quickpay.htm

Before ponying up your cash, why not make it interesting by pledging a total $ per species. If you pledge say 50 cents per species and we see 100 species, then you would donate $50 to the trust--and we have to work for it! You can also of course donate a flat rate if you like, or get out and do one of these 'birdathons' yourself this weekend and ask friends and family to sponsor you in a similar fashion. Feel free to state pledges in the comments below, by private messages, or keep it secret until you click 'donate' after the day. In order to find out how much funds are raised, please make a comment when you donate to the effect of "For the Fairy Men Big Day" or something like that. This way we can ask the trust how much came in!

On the day, we will live-tweet our experiences so anyone on the old 'Twitter' can follow the hashtag #fairymennz for all the action. I will then post a full report of our experiences after the fact on this forum.

Feel free to give us some competition on the day by getting out in your area! While we'll keep the route somewhat secret for now, we will be starting Saturday afternoon and birding through til Sunday afternoon mostly in the Auckland/Waikato area.

Thanks in advance for your support!

Robin Woods & his banded Fairy Men

[RussCannings]

Will also post direct-banking details as a donation option after the day and full report is complete. Thanks for all the great support thus far!

#fairymennz

[Adam C]

Great idea and effort to get this going Russ. I'll be in for $1 per bird. It's a great cause. Good luck!!!

[RussCannings]

Remember to donate to the NZ Fairy Tern trust and leave a comment like "Fairy Men". If you're on Twitter, follow the action by searching the hashtag #fairymennz. Should get going by late afternoon on Saturday. Thanks for all the support so far. I will post a full report next week.

Russ
(of "Robin Hood and his banded Fairy Men")

[RussCannings]

Full report to come in the next few days... Don't miss it!