Liz & I Just Pledged for the ABA Tropicbirds! How About You?
by Jeff Gordon
My wife, Liz and I just pledged $1.00 per species to the ABA Tropicbirds team, four teen birders who are participating in the Great Texas Birding Classic. I hope you'll click over to the pledge info page (or go straight to the online pledge form) and make either a per species pledge or a simple lump sum amount. The team is aiming for a total around 200 species, an avian cornucopia that will require considerable luck and skill.
I just got off the phone with chaperones Chip Clouse and Jen Brumfield, who told me that the team had a great day of scouting, capped off with a fabulous gumbo dinner prepared by birder-chef extraordinaire Michael Retter and hosted by the folks at Tropical Birding. They're heading out now to scout the Piney Woods for fabulous species like Swainson's Warbler, Bachman's Sparrow, and Red-cockaded Woodpecker, among dozens of others.
Having chaperoned a number of Tropicbirds teams over the years, Liz and I know just how much fun they're having and how much they're learning—about birds and about themselves. It's one of the most fun and educational experiences that I've ever had the privilege of sharing.
And I'll get to share a lot of this year's fun, too. Later this morning, I'll be flying to Houston, meeting up with the team and heading into the field with them at midnight tonight. I'll tag along through most of the day, hoping to come back with a wealth of photos, video, and memories, some of which I'll share with you right here on this blog.
Sunday morning, the team will go to the awards ceremony in Orange, TX, where I'll serve as emcee, having been invited to do so by Carol Jones and the fine folks at the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, who host the event. It should be a great weekend. Wish us luck, and please, help the team out with a pledge of support. Thank you!
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.