Migration Madness 2024

Nature Talk
1

Hey folks, every March I’ve put on a fun voting competition to see who’s the most popular North American bird. This is the 9th year I’m doing it, and I generally have a good turnout on the iNat forum. If you would like to vote, just follow this thread on a day-to-day basis, comment the birds you like, and I’ll like your comment to denote your vote has been counted. Here’s the schedule and the brackets:

March 15 — First Four (four games)

March 16-23 — Round of 64 (four games per day)

March 24-27 — Round of 32 (four games per day)

March 28-31 — Sweet Sixteen (two games per day)

April 1-4 — Elite Eight (one game per day)

April 5-6 — Final Four (one game per day)

April 7-8 — Championship (Two-day voting window)

Contestants

East

    1. American Kestrel
    1. Black Tern
    1. Tufted Titmouse
    1. Spotted Towhee
    1. Red-breasted Nuthatch
    1. Sabine’s Gull
    1. Trumpeter Swan
    1. Dickcissel
    1. Cedar Waxwing
    1. Grasshopper Sparrow
    1. Swainson’s Thrush
    1. Gray Catbird/Bohemian Waxwing
    1. Eastern Bluebird
    1. Horned Lark
    1. Wood Duck
    1. Common Goldeneye

West

    1. Western Tanager
    1. Franklin’s Gull/Williamson’s Sapsucker
    1. Dark-eyed Junco
    1. Peregrine Falcon
    1. Violet-green Swallow
    1. Canyon Wren
    1. Osprey
    1. Cassin’s Vireo
    1. Tufted Puffin
    1. Black-headed Grosbeak
    1. Sandhill Crane
    1. Greater Sage-Grouse
    1. Northern Flicker
    1. Steller’s Jay
    1. Mountain Bluebird
    1. Snowy Plover

North

    1. Northern Saw-whet Owl
    1. Surf Scoter
    1. Black-capped Chickadee
    1. Pileated Woodpecker
    1. Evening Grosbeak
    1. American Goldfinch
    1. Bald Eagle
    1. Emperor Goose
    1. Harlequin Duck
    1. Spotted Sandpiper
    1. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
    1. Yellow Warbler/Golden-crowned Kinglet
    1. Lewis’s Woodpecker
    1. Common Nighthawk
    1. Snowy Owl
    1. Merlin

South

    1. Lazuli Bunting
    1. Verdin/Black-crowned Night-Heron
    1. Yellow-throated Warbler
    1. Carolina Wren
    1. Red-tailed Hawk
    1. Broad-tailed Hummingbird
    1. Vermilion Flycatcher
    1. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
    1. Anna’s Hummingbird
    1. Gambel’s Quail
    1. Red-shouldered Hawk
    1. Northern Cardinal
    1. Great Blue Heron
    1. Hermit Warbler
    1. Burrowing Owl
    1. Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Previous Winners

  • 2023: Western Tanager
  • 2022: Burrowing Owl
  • 2021: American Kestrel
  • 2020: Harlequin Duck
  • 2019: Anna’s Hummingbird
  • 2018: Mountain Bluebird
  • 2017: Mountain Bluebird
  • 2016: Mountain Bluebird
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Friday, March 15th is the first day of voting. Four games to be played today.

Gray Catbird vs Bohemian Waxwing

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Franklin’s Gull vs Williamson’s Sapsucker

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Yellow Warbler vs Golden-crowned Kinglet

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Verdin vs Black-crowned Night Heron

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Waxwing, gull, warbler, heron

4

Catbird, Gull, Kinglet, Heron

(Look I love catbirds’ angry little MEHHHHH calls)

5

Waxwing, Franklin’s, yellow warbler, night heron, please.

7

Bohemian Waxwing, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Yellow Warbler, Verdin

8

Catbird, Gull, Kinglet, Heron

9

That time of year again.

Catbird, Williamson’s, Yellow Warbler, Black-Crowned

10

Waxwing, gull, kinglet, heron

11

Waxwing, gull, warbler, heron

12

I’m going to start the March 16th matchups a little early, I’m chasing grouse tomorrow morning.

American Kestrel vs Black Tern

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Peregrine Falcon vs Dark-eyed Junco

PEFavDEJU
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Evening Grosbeak vs american Goldfinch

EVGRvaMGO
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Scissor-tailed Flycatcher vs Vermilion Flycatcher

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Kestrel, peregrine, grosbeak, vermilion

14

Tern, Peregrine, Grosbeak, Scissor-tailed.

15

Kestrel, junco, goldfinch, vermillion

16

Tern, junco, grosbeak, scissor-tail

17

Kestrel, Peregrine, Grosbeak, Vermillion

19

Kestrel
Dark eyed junco
Goldfinch
Vermillion flycatcher

20

American Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Evening Grosbeak, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

21

Tern, junco, goldfinch, vermillion

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Day 2 of the Round of 64:

Cedar Waxwing vs Grasshopper Sparrow

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Greater Sage-Grouse vs Sandhill Crane

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Lewis’s Woodpecker vs Common Nighthawk

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Ladder-backed Woodpecker vs Burrowing Owl

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