The Twitchers in the 2025 Superbowl of Birding
The Twitchers smiling, despite the cold. Photo by Steve Mirick.
The Twitchers Win the Townie Award!
By: Becky Suomala, Team Captain
The Twitchers out of the Rye had a great day on Saturday (1/25/25) and did really well considering the cold January we’ve been having. Our team was the same four as last year, Becky Suomala (captain), Susan Wrisley (driver), Jenna Rosen (navigator), and Kathryn Frieden (chronicler). We were entirely in the town of Hampton, NH and were hoping that some of the birds we scouted would still be there.
The highlight was definitely the American Bittern that Susan Wrisley spotted while we were out scouting a few days before. It took us four tries to find it the day of the Superbowl, and a push from another team whose report made us look extra hard for the bird. It is a five-point species and a first for the Twitchers. Our second five-pointer was American Pipit, a new species for Hampton. We missed the three-point bonus because we weren’t the first to call it in (a requirement for all 5-pointers). How silly of me to think we should wait for sunrise to look for the pipits!
Other highlights were Barred and Great Horned Owl, Razorbill and Black Guillemot (a new species for Hampton), all three “expected” shorebird species (only the second time the Twitchers have had all three), two Lapland Longspurs with the Horned Larks and Snow Buntings at Hampton Beach State Park (absent when we scouted), all the winter seabirds expected from shore, and a Winter Wren (a new species for Hampton).
Total species: 65 (one short of our Hampton record of 66)
Total points: 109 (Hampton high 119)
That was enough to win the Townie Award, bringing it back to New Hampshire after a team from Massachusetts won it last year!
Biggest Disappointments
- The Peregrine Falcon that flew up to its perch on the Hampton water tower at 5:03 pm – just three minutes after the end of the competition.
- Missing the 5-point Chipping Sparrow in Hampton despite four visits (although I don’t know of any team that found it).
Misses
- Wood Duck – scouted bird still present on January 23 (I don’t think anyone else found it.)
- Cooper’s Hawk
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Pileated Woodpecker (seen while scouting in days leading up to event)
- Brown Creeper
- Red-winged Blackbird (seen while scouting in days leading up to event)
You can read Kathryn’s much-anticipated and enjoyed full summary here. Thanks to those who already made a donation or sent a fun pledge (e.g. a bonus for each alcid species, bonus per 5-point species, bonus for new-to-the-Twitcher birds). If you would like to donate, you can visit the Twitchers donation page: https://nhaudubon.org/make-a-donation-to-twitchers/.
Past Years’ Results
To read the expanded summary, see the full list of species, or look at past years’ results, click the links below.
| Year | Species | Points | Town | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 65 | 109 | Hampton | View Summary article (pdf) |
| 2024 | 62 | 108 | Hampton | View Summary article (pdf) |
| 2023 | 13 | Antarctica | View Summary article (pdf) | |
| 2022 | 62 | 106 | Rye | View Summary article (pdf) |
| 2021 | Three – COVID | View Summary article (pdf) | ||
| 2020 | 66 | 119 | Hampton | View Summary article (pdf) |
| 2019 | 63 | 118 | Hampton | View Summary article (pdf) |
| 2018 | 59 | 104 | Rye | View Summary article (pdf) |
| 2017 | 59 | 93 | Rye | View Summary article (pdf) |
| 2016 | 59 | 95 | Rye | View Summary article (pdf) |
| 2015 | 59 | 100 | Rye | View Summary article (pdf) |
| 2014 | 58 | 104 | Rye | View Summary article (pdf) |
| 2013 | 62 | 106 | Rye | View Summary article (pdf) |
| 2012 | 58 | 95 | Rye | View Summary article (pdf) |
| 2011 | 57 | 94 | Rye | View Summary article (pdf) |
| 2010 | 53 | 78 | Rye | View Summary article (pdf) |
| 2009 | 63 | 112 | Rye |
View a chart showing the species list and points from 2009 through 2024.
Listen to the NHPR story recorded by Annie Ropeik on the 2018 Twitchers: https://www.nhpr.org/post/birding-bowl-2018-audubon-showdown-draws-flock-nh-seacoast#stream/0