Saturday, May 16, CENTURY RUN (NYS Region 8; all day)

Compiler: Larry Alden 518-861-6087 overlook@nycap.rr.com

COVID-19 GUIDANCE: Should you choose to participate in the Century Run on Saturday, May 16, your  safety and the safety of the community are of the utmost importance.  Please follow all NYS Executive Order directives and public health guidance to avoid gatherings and maintain social distancing while out birding.  You could also consider visiting some of the less-birded locations in the club’s 11-county area, particularly more remote or rural parts of Schenectady, Schoharie, Greene, Columbia, Washington, Fulton, Warren, Rensselaer, and Montgomery counties.  An added bonus to visiting these areas could be to fill in some blank spaces in the latest NYS Breeding Bird Atlas effort. 

This is the Club’s 75th Anniversary of the Century Run, where birders try to find as many species of birds as they possibly can in a 24-hour period within the eleven county NYS Region 8.  A good Century Run (so named for the goal of reaching a “century”, or at least 100 species) calls for proper planning to hit a wide variety of habitats at the right time. Coverage can include the whole HMBC area (Albany, Schenectady, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Washington, Warren, Fulton, Montgomery, Schoharie, Greene, and Columbia counties) or can be limited to a smaller geographic area – a single county, town, etc. You decide where you want to go, and at what pace, to see what you can find.

Reports should be emailed to the compiler by May 28th, in order to be counted and published in “Feathers”, the Club newsletter. Reports should include species, hours afield, team members, and geographical areas (counties) covered. Also, please send an e-mail to the HMBirds group (https://groups.io/g/hmbirds/messages) with the total number of species observed, and highlights for your group.