Bird City Wisconsin Newsletter --Chasing a ‘Big Year’ birding record in the Town of Rome
In 2016, the Town of Rome became the 96th community in the state to be officially recognized as a Bird City. Since 2016, Rome has annually submitted applications and been approved for renewed recognition under “Sustained Flight” status. Once the bed of a glacial lake, Rome’s landscape consists of spectacular sand barrens and rolling pines. Home to the endangered Kirtland Warbler, Whooping Crane, Clay Colored Sparrow and Karner Blue Butterfly, the Town of Rome is a prime destination for nature-enthusiasts and birders. Richard Wagner, a local resident and avid birder in Adams County, spent much of the 2020 season birding in the Town of Rome and surrounding area. Birding was ideal during the pandemic due to the socially distanced nature of the activity. Wagner shares: “I birded Adams quite a bit last year after moving back from Asia and the emphasis on the local during this pandemic. About four months into 2020, I saw in eBird that a well known name in Wisconsin birding, the late Rev. Samuel Robbins, Jr., had a 219 year in 1955, so for kicks I set out to try to beat it as I had a decent foundation for a Big Year from the first four months.” (A “219” year refers to documenting 219 different species of birds throughout the calendar year.) Wagner set the ambitious goal of beating Robbins’ historic 1955 record for Adams County. Logging each bird viewed and the locations, Wagner documented his bird sightings, many of them in Rome Township. Wagner recapped, “I got to 220 just as the sun was setting on Dec. 31 (an immature Northern Goshawk on Akron Drive) -- sort of strange how that stuff happens.” Though many scheduled Town of Rome birding events were canceled due to COVID-19, the Sand Valley Restoration Trust was able to hold its third annual Christmas Bird Count on Dec. 16. Thirteen surveyors counted a total of 1,258 birds of 34 different species. --
To view Wagner’s Big Year list, click on Town of Rome : Bird City — Visit Rome, WI
For the full newsletter: https://birdcitywisconsin.org/resources/newsletters?start=5