2024 Helmut Grünberg Yukon Birdathon

By Jim Hawkings

The annual Helmut Grünberg Yukon Birdathon is the Yukon Bird Club’s main fundraiser, but more importantly, it’s a great way for Yukon birdwatchers to spend up to 24 hours seeking out the full diversity Yukon birds (…and avoiding less pleasant activities like spring cleaning…). It is held on the last weekend of May, just as the last few spring migrants trickle back to the north. The birdathon is a fairly informal affair, but the many detailed bird checklists submitted to eBird by participants provide an interesting snapshot of birds present on this weekend each year, and contribute to our overall knowledge of Yukon Birds. It’s also a great social event.

This year’s birdathon was yet another great success. Forty people participated, enduring some rather lackluster, cool conditions. It wasn’t the worst weather we’ve had, but cool enough that swallows were not exactly cavorting all over the place. Many environmentally conscious birders this year walked and biked, but they also e-biked, carpooled, and used public transit or electric vehicles. Many chose to explore places fairly close to home.

When the dust cleared on Saturday afternoon, there were some familiar names at the top of the list for most species seen or heard during the 24-hour period. Adam Perrier managed 106 species, followed closely by the team of Syd Cannings (our feature birder!) and Avery Bartels at 104. Our perennial champion, Jukka Jantunen, had 100.

What’s remarkable about Jukka’s birdathon is that, for the first time, he was enviro-birding by foot and bike, in an effort that brings to mind the epic birdathons of the late Helmut Grünberg. Like Helmut, Jukka almost managed to beat everyone!

We had a record number of eight people enviro-birding (using only human power, public transit, or e-bikes for transportation). Behind (….well behind) Jukka in the enviro-birding category were Lena Ware and Cameron Eckert, tied with 57 species, while the team of Ashwyn Freyne and Knute Johnsguaard had 55; Kirsten Wilcox and Ted Murphy-Kelly both managed 54.

Ted’s birdathon was remarkable in that he spent the entire period in a small area the size of a backyard. Mind you that “backyard” was at the Albert Creek banding station! Another remarkable birder was 7-year-old River Richardson, who found 12 species by himself on foot. We have an award category for backyard birding, but it seems we didn’t have anyone this year who truly satisfied the criteria – maybe a good thing as people took the time to explore the larger area accessible from their home by foot or bike.

Among new participants to the birdathon, the team of Austin Zeller, Rachael Anderson, and Matt Evans had 71 species, followed by Ashwin Freyne and Knute Johnsguaard with 55. The team of Isabelle Cliché along with the Bearisto brothers Henry, Julian, Seamus had 40, as did Katherine Sandiford birding with Arthur and Julia Creamer.

Birding is fun for all ages! This year’s participants ranged from 6-year old Grace Pinkerton (one of six participants under 12) to 75-year-old Bob Atkinson.

Among families who participated as a team, John Meikle and Helen Liskova were the champs with 54 species, while Katherine Sandiford and her kids had 40, and Anne, Dorothy, and Grace Pinkerton had 35.

But what about the birds? We had 149 species this year, just two shy of the record number of 151 in 2019. There was the usual smattering of birds at the northwestern edge of their range seen by Ted and Jukka around Watson Lake, but nothing truly unusual.

The post-birdathon gathering and putluck dinner was well-attended, and there was a steady chatter of participants exchanging tales of adventure over dinner. Once again it was windy enough that we needed John Meikle’s generous expertise in setting up a tarp windbreak at the shelter in Rotary Park. We look forward to a possible return to the more sheltered setting at Robert Service Park next year!

Thanks to all the YBC board members who helped make the Birdathon a success this year, especially Betty Sutton who once again rounded up a bunch of wonderful prizes. And of course we thank our Feature Birder Syd Cannings and all the other participants and sponsors for their ongoing support of the Yukon Bird Club.

Results
2024-birdathon-results-for-web

Master Checklist
YBC-Birdathon-2024-master-checklist-for-web