At the end of May, I met with my Birdathon teammates to see how many bird species we could find in a day. We met in Bangor well before dawn. My teammates had already heard a barred owl and a nighthawk.

But we couldn’t count them. According to the American Birding Association, which makes the rules, heard birds count, but the team must be all together when counting species.

My team competes in a friendly competition with other local teams. We ask sponsors to pledge a per-species donation to benefit the Fields Pond Audubon Center, then try to find as many bird species as we can in one day.

Luckily the barred owl hooted again that morning, but we didn’t hear the nighthawk then, nor all day or that night. We found many other wonderful birds, though.

Team member Bruce Barker said, “Our Birdathon Day is my Christmas.” He waits and waits for it to come, can’t sleep the night before, and every bird species he finds is a wonderful and joyous gift.

Bob Milardo first got us together in 1985 to discuss the idea of doing a Birdathon, and we’ve done it every year since.

We are the longest-competing American Birding Association Birdathon team in Maine.

Joni Dunn of Bangor Photo volunteers to be our driver, freeing us for spotting and listening for birds, and for keeping records even when the birds are coming in fast and furious. Literally. When Bob Milardo played a Virginia rail’s call on an iPod, the bird came out of the swamp ready to fight.

At the first light of dawn, we headed for the Orono Bog Boardwalk in Bangor. The signature bird species of the Bog Boardwalk, the palm warbler, was singing and perching in view.

It is the signature species of the bog because many nest there, they are easily found in nesting season, late May through summer. We were delighted to hear and see them.

We found many other warblers there: Nashville, yellow-rumped, magnolia, parula – all beautiful, all gifts of nature. We tried to find the gray jay, seen there last week, without success. So went our day – finding many, missing some.

Our most exciting find was the uncommon mourning warbler, a mostly yellow warbler named for its black and gray “cape.” We were conversing briefly with a friend, when a teammate shouted, “Mourning warbler!”

We dropped the conversation instantly and ran toward the shrubbery to find the bird! We heard the bird, and got quick glimpses of it, too. It was the birding highlight of the day.

We will soon find out whether our team, or another local team, won. But we all won. We spent a day in May at our favorite pastime while supporting our favorite cause, the Fields Pond Audubon Center.

For more information on Fields Pond Audubon Center, call 989-2591.