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 "Witchities" World Series of Birding Blog |
Crew Member #6by Ian LynchAlthough we were never near panic, the truth is that the Witchities have been on a search for team members to reach the point of being official. OK, so that number is only three and Carl and I were on board all along, so it wasn't a difficult search.
But just like the World Series itself, it doesn't matter how hard it is to get the bird, just that you do. And so we got ourselves two birders to fill out our team. The first is Dave Evans. He was in the same boat we were, being down some members and looking to become "official." His team last year was the Mad Harriers, who finished with an impressive 181 species. We are grateful to have his energy, skill...and previously scouted birds! We are all bursting with pre-game confidence that this will be the year to break the 200 species barrier. Dave also brings to the team his nephew, Chris Vinosky. This continues our tradition of "keeping it in the family." I got involved through my friendship with Tom Young, brother-in-law to Carl and uncle to Cliff. Then when we added a driver, I dragged my brother on to the team. I guess it helps to be related to your teammates since you already know how to quarrel! Chris is a young musician and so will be filling the big shoes (literally) of Cliff this year. We have noticed that the musical talent seems to help provide "good ears" for the team. What Chris doesn't know is that he will be playing the part of "Crew Member #6" for us. You know the role I mean. Remember on Star Trek how some character who had never been on the show before would suddenly be named to the away team? The same thing always happened to Ensign Whatshisname...he didn't return. The rest of the team has been exchanging a mad flurry of pre-season emails about plans and already we have Chris slated to contend with bears in remote sections of northern New Jersey and angry farmers wary of trespassers. Welcome to the Witchities, Chris! Seriously, we look to have more scouting hours available to us this year along with the influx of knowledge that Dave brings. Every year builds on the previous ones and coming off our best year ever we are eager to push harder this year and see what results we can achieve. And it doesn't hurt that we have the ego and confidence boost of being Super Bowl Champions! 11:16 PM - Monday, March 27, 2006 - post comment
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Description This blog will feature information on the Friends of Salem Woods Wicked Witchities, a birding team competing in the New Jersey Audubon Society's World Series of Birding on May 13, 2006. We will include information on our past experiences, preparation for next year's event, scouting tips, photos of locales, and ending with live updates from the field on the day of the World Series. Home User Profile Archives Friends NJAS World Series Site Recent Entries - Big Day minus one - WSB scouting - WSB Monday - Hallucinations and Hope - White-tailed Hawk Update |