Summary of Big January, 2025
From Sarah Faulkner
Our ninth annual Hartford County Big January of Birding challenge was a huge success once again. This yearly quest for individuals to see the most bird species in January in Hartford County brought out a large number of entrants this year. A brief warm spell at the start of the month turned into weeks of very cold, windy conditions that challenged many birders. Those able to see many species in January had to work hard for them!
As an organization, we witnessed a wonderful sharing of species sightings – from a Barrow’s goldeneye to a great cormorant, birders used eBird and the ctbirds listserve to help many others enjoy their sightings. Sharing also helped introduce birders to new locations. We all had a lot of fun!
Our 2025 winners are listed below. HAS awards certificates in these categories: Youth (ages 4-10): 25 species; Teen (ages 11-17): 35 species; Weekend Warrior Adults (ages 18+ whose day jobs ironically interfere with birding): 50 species, and Adult (ages 18+ who can get outdoors during the week): 60 species. It should be noted that finding even 50 species in Hartford County in January is no easy feat. All winners receive a certificate from HAS, and the adult with the most species will be celebrated at the HAS Annual meeting in May, along with the birder who found the most notable bird – our coveted “Golden Grebe” award. Special congratulations go to Sebastian Lawton, aged 15, with 49 species in the Teen category, and to Jamie Meyers for winning the adult category with 103 species. The Golden Grebe award winner will be kept secret until May!
Adults Category
Logan Barnes
Laura and Bob Bengtson
Debbie Bishop
Chris Chinni
Andrew Dasinger
Paul Danese
Sarah Faulkner
Jeff Fengler
Sue Gowen
John Graham
Jacob Gransinger
Jack Halibozek
Joan Heffernan
Thomas Heffernan
Connor Hogan
Tanya Janeczko
Jay Kaplan
William Kelly
David Lawton
Lisa Lukawicz
Sophia Marler
Barry Marsh
Jamie Meyers
Annette Pasek
Maryann Passalacqua
Maggie Peretto
Rebecca Rose
Julia Sheldon
Riley Sheldon
Russ Smiley
Davis Smith
Audrey Staropoli
Brian Toal
John Weeks
Zihan Wei
Debi Wheeler
Alison Wilcox
Chris Wilcox
Faith Ann Weidner
Joseph Wojtanowski
Teen Category (ages 11-17)
Sebastian Lawton (15 years old), 49 species
