Birders' Big Sit!

Birders are known for their counts. The Christmas bird count. The life list. And so many more.

This Sunday, birders across the country will be engaging in another -- the 14th annual "Big Sit!" Participants stake out a 17-foot diameter circle and note as many species as possible in 24 hours.

The rules are simple and non-competitive, according to press information about the event. "Count all the birds you see or hear from within one 17-foot diameter circle, real or imaginery (species, not individuals). For competitive birders, it's a chance to showcase identification skills. For casual bird-watchers, the Big Sit! can be a wonderful opportunity to learn new species while meeting new people or old friends."

They have 24 hours - midnight to midnight - to do it. But birders in this area will team up dawn to dusk for a sit at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum in Philadelphia.

They'll gather at the Observation platform about .75 miles from the Visitor Center - "a nice walk along the dike road," says participant Debbie Beer. Several members of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club will be there, she reports, under the leadership of Tony Croasdale, a passionate birder since grade school and a favorite volunteer at Tinicum.

(The date, but the way, coincides with National Wildlife Refuge week, October 12-18.)

Read more about the Big Sit! at the website of one of the sponsors, BirdWatcher's Digest, www.birdwatchersdigest.com