It's been dark for a couple of hours, and while a few stalwart birders may be out owling in the wind, it's time for a preliminary November 1 status check-in on the 5th Annual November County Challenge!
The species totals below are from eBird with a stated update of ~16:00. They will thus not include anything reported in the last 3-4 hours. Nor do they include any rarities awaiting eBird review (of which I know there are several!). Nonetheless, this imperfect snapshot can serve to give everyone a feeling for where the counties stand. But before I get there, I'd like to comment on what seems like a groundswell of effort in all ten counties, with tons of checklists coming in (the number in parentheses in the list below). I'm hoping this is because this game is gaining in popularly statewide and not just that it was a beautiful day to be outside!
Counties are listed in order of their rank based on the OLD scoring system (% off all time Nov species total). The first number in brackets is each county's species total (with the caveats above), followed by it's ranking . Finally, I've included a handful of fun rarities for each county based on *photos* in each county's eBird page (in other words, there are more rarities, including in counties with none listed!).
If you use my new experimental metrics, first and second place remain unchanged, while third shifts to either Merrimack or Rockingham. At this point it's obviously too early to determine how all the systems compare, but there'll be a lot more data after the weekend. At that point, I'll also make an effort to dig into the review queue to provide more current species totals and let everyone know what the race looks like after three days.
In the meantime, it'd be great to hear stories from the field. All I ask is that people be civil as we posture and crow about our achievements. As we get closer and closer to the conclusion of another (and FAR more stress-inducing) horse race (I heard rumors there's an election coming up?!), we don't need to add any more trash talk than necessary. The idea here is to have fun. It's fine to to go over the top with this game now and then, but PLEASE don't insult or demean the efforts of or individuals from other counties. We're better than that. Highlight the positive. If you are writing something that has the potential be viewed in a negative light by another birder, think twice before you post, and always remember that nuance is extremely hard to convey in email. As the creator and referee of this contest, I don't want to start imposing penalties, but DO have an idea for one.
