Preliminary Results from the 7th Annual Taverner Cup
May 24, 2003
From: Jeff Harrison
Co-ordinator of the Taverner Cup Birding Competition
Tel: (514) 486-4943
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
______________________________________________________
This year 52 participants in 14 teams, 6 competitive and 8 recreational,
competed in the 7th Annual Taverner Cup Birding Competition. This
corporate-sponsored event was held in eastern Ontario and western Quebec
over a 24-hour period on Saturday May 24th.
Participants faced low temperatures and heavy rain through much of the day
interspersed with light showers. One unlucky team was forced to drive from
Presquile to Ottawa in the driving rain with the back windows open when
their power windows failed to close. A major migration passed through on
Friday. Some stayed around to be counted but few late migrating waterfowl
were found on Lake Ontario due to widespread fog and mist. Continuous rain
dampened birds enthusiasm for singing. These factors resulted in
unprecedented low all-team species total of 207. The only rare bird
recorded was the Eurasian Collared Dove near Marysville, Ontario. Other
birding highlights were Least Bittern, Gray Partridge, Spruce Grouse,
Yellow Rail, Sandhill Crane, Red-necked Phalarope, Long and Short-eared
Owls, American Pipit, Loggerhead Shrike, 24 species of warblers including
Louisiana Waterthrush, Orchard Oriole and White-winged Crossbill.
The "Bushnell Nighthawks", captained by Ottawa native, Bruce DiLabio, with
fellow birders Chris Traynor from Ottawa and Ross Harris from Toronto, won
the Taverner Cup with a total of 161 species. Their winning route included
stops in the Richmond Fen near Ottawa, Algonquin Park, Presquile
Provincial Park, Cheffeys Locks, north of Kingston and the Alfred Sewage
Lagoon. The "Focus Scientific Merlins", captained by Tony Beck of Ottawa,
placed second with 143 species. The "Wild Birds Unlimited Great Gray Owls",
captained by Jeff Harrison of Montreal, placed third with 142. Other teams
included the "Swarovski Cool Chats"which placed fourth with 140, Guillemot
Holdings Inc. (Montreal) "Saw-it Owls" with 132 and the Nature Boutique
(Canadian Museum of Nature) "Dafoes Whisky Jacks" with 120.
The "Fenomenal Fledglings", a team of junior birders aged 10 to 14 from
Ottawa, captained by adult, Joe Dafoe, won the recreational category, and
the Fothergill Trophy, with a remarkable total of 122 species.
The"Cardenals", captained by Lindsay Ontarios Chris Ellingwood placed
second with 119 species. They were awarded the Judith Wilkes Trophy. Teams
and team members came from as far away as Montreal, Leamington, Lindsay and
Toronto.. A list of teams and their totals will be found below.
About 70 people, including participants, their sponsors, and invited
guests, attended the catered Awards Banquet held in Ottawa on Sunday
morning May 25th. The Ottawa Field Naturalists Club (OFNC) and the
Fletcher Wildlife Garden hosted the event. David Moore a Past President of
the OFNC, was Master of Ceremonies. Gillian Marston, Vice President of the
OFNC, presented Bruce DiLabio and his team with the Taverner Cup. Shelagh
MGonigle, a descendant of Ontarios first resident ornithologist, Charles
Fothergill, presented the Fothergill Trophy to Joe Dafoe.. Joan Molnar of
the "Jaywalkers", a close friend of Judith Wilks, presented the Wilks
Trophy to Chris Ellingwood..
The banquet was a big success again this year highlighted by gold, silver
and bronze medallions for the winning teams, impromptu speeches, and
numerous door prizes. A receptive audience was treated by a terrific new
rendition of "Singing in the Rain" by the "Jaywalkers".
The final team results for 2003 are as follows
Competitive:
Sponsor/Team Name Captain
Bushnell (Toronto) Nighthawks Bruce DiLabio
161
Focus Scientific Merlins (Ottawa) Tony Beck
143
Wild Birds Unlimited (Ottawa) Great Gay Owls Jeff Harrison
142
Swarovski Cool Chats Frank Pinilla
140
Guillemont Holdings (Montreal) Saw-it Owls Jacques Bouvier 132
Nature Boutique (Ottawa) Dafoes Whisky Jacks Jean Dubois
120
Recreation:
Fenomenal Fledglings Joe Dafoe
122
Cardenals Chris Ellingwood
119
Birdbrains David Britton
115
Tweachers Janet Castle
110
The Roadrunners Brett Groves
106
The Motherflickers Chris Lewis
88
Carless Wonders Paul Jones
77
Jaywalkers Joan Molnar
60
The purpose of the Taverner Cup is to raise money for environmental
projects and to raise awareness of the great diversity and richness of
wildlife habitats in eastern Ontario and western Quebec. This year, through
sponsor and participants fees, our Competitive and Recreational teams
raised about $3,000.00 for wildlife projects. Non-Ottawa based teams,
regardless of category of entry, had all their sponsor and participant fees
reimbursed to them for an environmental project of their choice, courtesy
of the OFNC. Projects supported by reimbursements included: the Province of
Quebec Society for the Protection of Birds Conservation Programs,
Thicksons Woods Land Trust (Ajax), Friends of Point Pelees Backyard
Habitat Program and Boardwalk development at Kawartha Conservation. Ottawa
area teams fees help support the OFNCs Fletcher Wildlife Garden.
The Taverner Cup boundary includes the cities of Montreal, Ottawa and
Gatineau and lies just east of Metropolitan Toronto. These cities contain
three of the four largest urban populations in Canada. This very
accessible, but under-birded part of Ontario/Quebec, has an outstanding
range of habitats and migrant traps, and combined with its geographical
location, makes it one of the best, if not the best year-around birding
area in Canada.
Plans are developing to create a birding trail to run from Toronto to
Montreal and pass through Kingston and Ottawa. The Trail will eventually
provide easier public access and awareness of the many fine sites and a
marketing focus for wildlife-related activities such as bird festivals,
events and programs that take place throughout the year. More details can
be obtained from the Taverner Cup co-ordinator.
The co-ordinator offers a special thanks to all our corporate sponsors and
participating birders whose continued support is making the Taverner Cup a
successful birding and fund-raising event. Thanks are also extended to our
many volunteers, especially Judy Hall and Christine Hanrahan (Compilation
of Teams results), Ken Allison (T-shirt graphics), Chris Lewis
(Medallions) and David Moore. Finally, many thanks to Agriculture and
Agri-Food Canada for providing our attractive banquet facilities, Joe Dafoe
of The Nature Boutique for arranging prizes, and Gord Gallant of "Websites
Naturally" (Toronto) for maintaining our website (
www.web-net.com/taverner/). Your patronage of our many loyal sponsors would
be very much appreciated.
Next year the Taverner Cup will take place on Saturday May 29th.
Jeff Harrison
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Mark Cranford
ONTBIRDS Coordinator
Mississauga, Ontario
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
905 279 9576
Mark Cranford <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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