Date: 10/13/26 8:27 am From: David Govatski <david.govatski...> Subject: [NHBirds] Pondicherry Big Sit Results
The 20th annual Pondicherry Big Sit was held on Saturday 10 October 2026 from before sunrise to sunset. The Big Sit rules state that we can count all birds seen or positively heard from a 17-foot diameter circle. We use the Tudor Richard Viewing Platform at the edge of Cherry Pond in Jefferson. This is a 1.5 mile walk or bicycle ride in from the trailhead on Airport Road. The night sky early that morning was clear, and the Milky Way visible on the bike ride in. The starting temperature was 32 degrees and the deck had frost on it.
The 8 participants tallied a total of 35 species for the day and that is the average number of species seen over the 20 year period. The viewing conditions were excellent with clear skies and light West winds later in the morning from 2-5 mph. There was minimal migration and no V flocks of Canada geese flying overhead. The warm fall and lack of favorable North winds have delayed migration.
We added two new species to the Big Sit list that now stands at 94 species over 20 years on this date. We added Northern Pintail when a flock of 12 flew over the platform. We also added a common summer species, a lone red-winged blackbird. The only two warbler species were palm and yellow-rumped. Five black scoter were noted at dawn but left soon after.
