Great Texas Birding Classic

The Classic's weeklong tournament, in which Nikon and WildBird have sponsored a team, began yesterday. I have no clue where Michael Retter, Cameron Cox, Mike Freiberg and Ken Behren (aka Nikon WildBirders) are at this moment.

Phone calls yesterday failed to elicit responses -- which isn't surprising, given their task of covering the entire state of Texas in five days and identifying the most species. I don't anticipate talking to them until about midnight on Saturday, when the guys will turn in their team checklist for the judges' reviews. If the Nikon WildBirders win the weeklong tournament, they'll receive bragging rights for a year and the chance to donate $20,000 to a habitat conservation project in Texas, as previous WildBird teams have.

This year, the fellows aren't the only ones participating in the Classic. A few months ago, Clay Taylor of Swarovski invited me to drive during the Lower Coast tournament this Saturday. The 24-hour tourney will begin at midnight on Friday, and I'll chaffeur four fellows, including Clay and John Arvin of the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory. I can't wait!