This is an article looking back in time to when County Bird Racing was popular. At one time there were national competitions which attracted hundreds of teams from many counties across the UK. The teams would consist of four birders who would have to see or hear as many species as possible in a 24 hour period, from within their county. The teams would be handicapped as to what their species target would be and the winners would be the team with the highest percentage of their target.
So in an attempt to document what happened in Buckinghamshire, the results have been pulled together and are shown in two tables.
https://www.goingbirding.co.uk/bucks/birdracing.asp
The second table is in PDF form and can be downloaded with this link. This table shows all of the species seen for the teams.
It is quite interesting to see how some species have become more common over the years and how some species have become very difficult to find. For example in the early years it was not possible or extremely difficult to see Little Egret, Red Kite, Buzzard or Raven. It was however, with a bit of planning, possible to see or hear Lady Amherst’s Pheasant, Willow Tit, Turtle Dove, Ruddy Duck and others. Take a look at the species table for the whole picture.
Since the last race took part in 2012 things have changed further. Turtle Dove and Nightingale have all but gone from the county and birds such as Great White Egret are now a possibility! If anyone does attempt a bird race in the future it will be interesting to compare results. One thing is for sure is that to get even close to the current record of 121 species will be a real challenge!