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Big Sit date



We had some correspondence with John Himmelmann in an earlier year
concerning Big Sit dates.  At that time we were interested in doing a
Big Sit at Bear Island WMA on Saturday since it is officially closed on
Sundays.  The response we got was that there was no flexibility in the
date because the idea was to get a snapshot picture of the migration on
a single day.

Right now it does appear that Irene is likely to force cancellation of
one or more of the planned Carolinas Big Sits.  Our (not necessarily
mutually exclusive) options seem to be:

	a.  Just try again next year.

	b.  Observe whatever birds can be observed from some appropriate safe
haven rather than the planned site. A hurricane blown bird might show up
in a back yard! Although documenting what I assume is little or no
migratory activity during the passage of a hurricane is perhaps not very
exciting from a birding point of view, it is part of the big picture.

	c.  Reschedule a Big Sit for a later date even though it won't be part
of a national effort/competition.  (We could always compare notes for
the Carolinas!) 

We (Columbia, SC Audubon) are planning a Big Sit at Santee NWR.  If it
is merely a bit wet that far inland, we will probably do it anyway. 
However, if dangerous winds and storms are predicted there or if there
is a coastal evacuation, we won't. 

Caroline Eastman
Columbia, SC
eastman@cs.sc.edu