Editor’s Note: The Superbowl of Birding is an annual event hosted by Mass Audubon. The contest challenges teams to spot as many bird species as possible during a 12-hour period in Rockingham County, NH, and/or Essex County, MA. Some teams (including NH Audubon’s) compete for the coveted Townie Award, focusing their efforts on a single town to record the highest number of species. NH Audubon’s team, the Twitchers, raises money for NH Audubon’s birds and birding publication, New Hampshire Bird Records, now online as the Joy of Birding. 

If you’re going to compete in the Superbowl of Birding, you might as well go all in. 

So when Becky Suomala mentioned she’d be in New Zealand during this year’s event (January 31, 2026) and asked if I could step in, I said yes without much hesitation. How hard could it be, right? Famous last words. What I didn’t realize at the time was that this would go down as one of the coldest Superbowls of Birding in team memory. 

Despite the frigid temperatures, the day was filled with great people and an incredible sense of community. I was lucky to join the Twitchers alongside Leo McKillop (with Kathryn Frieden also away), and to bird with Susan Wrisley and Jenna Rosen, whose knowledge of every nook and cranny of Hampton is truly tremendous.

The 2026 Twitchers: Grace McCulloch, Susan Wrisley, Jenna Rosen, and Leo McKillop (left to right).

A Brutally Cold Start 

We were up at 4:00 a.m. and standing roadside in Hampton by 5:02 a.m., making owl calls in the dark, the only light from the almost full moon low in the sky. The car thermometer read –7°F, a temperature I sincerely hope never to experience again. Susan delivered an excellent Northern Saw-whet Owl call, and Jenna an Eastern Screech-Owl, but the owls were unimpressed. To make matters worse, Liberty Lane, one of our key wooded areas, was closed due to construction, costing us both owling opportunities and one of our best woodland birding spots in a heavily developed town. 

The Twitchers owling by Jenna Rosen.

By 6:22 a.m., it had “warmed” to 0°F (trust me, there is a difference). At Quinlan Lane, before we could even begin calling, two Great Horned Owls announced themselves, calling back and forth. A Northern Cardinal soon followed (our second species of the morning) and with that, the day began to gain momentum. 

Rolling into Daylight 

As dawn broke, we headed toward the Hampton Wastewater Treatment Plant. Along the way, we heard a Barred Owl and picked up birds that had finally awakened: Black-capped Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco, Tufted Titmouse, American Tree Sparrow, and others. Leo spotted a Bald Eagle on the marsh and we added Rock Pigeon, avoiding the pigeon penalty early this time (ever since pigeons were missed one year a pigeon penalty has been enacted).  

Cooper’s Hawks were everywhere (six or seven throughout the day), though Sharp-shinned Hawk managed to elude us entirely. We checked feeders along Landing Road and made our first of several attempts to find a scouted Belted Kingfisher at the Hampton River Boat Club, no luck. We were surprised to find two separate flocks of Wild Turkeys roosting in neighborhood trees—a species we hadn’t recorded in Hampton during the Superbowl for several years. 

The Painted Bunting Chase 

Next came two of the day’s highlights: the Painted Bunting and Rusty Blackbird. I had coordinated with a wonderfully generous homeowner who not only welcomed us but had created a path through the snow to make viewing easier. Knowing about the bird ahead of time didn’t feel quite fair, so we made sure all teams knew it was fair game starting at 8:00 a.m. 

We arrived right on time. The homeowner met us in the driveway and first showed us a Rusty Blackbird. It was perched right where she said it would be. I rushed to call it in, hoping for the three-point bonus as the first team to report a five-point bird, but the Harris Center Kestrels had beaten us to it. Steve Mirick’s team soon arrived, and we all waited eagerly for the Painted Bunting to appear. With the clock ticking and hopes of Black Vultures at Hurd Farm (another five-point bird), we made the tough call to move on. 

The Rusty Blackbird hanging out in a Hampton backyard. Our first five-point bird of the day! Photo by Leo McKillop.

Highs, Lows, and Five-point Birds 

The Black Vultures had been reported just across the town line, so we strained from every Hampton-legal vantage point, including trudging through knee-deep snow on a bridge, but came up empty. A rumored Fox Sparrow on Twin Drive also failed to materialize. 

Back to the bunting we went, only to find that Allison Rhodes’ team had gotten it minutes before us. Still, we enjoyed fantastic views, and it was a lifer for me, so all was forgiven. Not long after, word came that Black Vultures were finally visible in Hampton. We rushed back and were rewarded with a perched Black Vulture, a five-point bird and a first-ever for the Twitchers during the Superbowl of Birding. 

The team’s second five-point bird, a Painted Bunting! Photo by Leo McKillop. Please see the note at the end of this article about the bird.

A Flurry of Coastal Birds 

With an early high tide (9:31 a.m., 9.7 ft), the pace picked up fast. At Bicentennial Park, we were greeted by Catherine Eames bearing hot cocoa, coffee, and treats, our hero! The sun was shining, and for the first time all day, we felt almost warm (12°F). 

Birds followed: Horned Lark (a scouting miss), Black Scoter, Common Loon, Common Eider, American Black Duck, Horned Grebe, Sanderling, Savannah Sparrow, and more. We chased the tide to Boar’s Head, picking up Surf and White-winged Scoters, then continued on to Hampton Beach State Park for Red-throated Loon. Purple Sandpipers remained stubbornly absent, though we did find Snow Buntings, right before Leo fell waist-deep into the snow while trying to get a better view. 

Twitchers at Bicentennial Park, bundled up. Photo by Jenna Rosen.

Snowy Owls and Northern Harriers never showed and a Barrow’s Goldeneye reported nearby by Steve Mirick led us on a spirited (but unsuccessful) chase. Many a Common Goldeneye were checked, but alas! Still, a flock of Dunlin softened the blow. After skipping lunch and retracing our steps for missed species, we closed out the day checking feeders and once again narrowly missing the Belted Kingfisher at the Hampton River Boat Club. 

Dunlin in Hampton Harbor. Photo by Leo McKillop.

Cold Weather Reality Check 

The defining story of the day was the cold. With almost no open water, species we often count on (Northern Pintail, Hooded Merganser, Great Blue Heron, etc.) were simply unavailable. Deep snow limited access beyond roadsides, and even hardy winter birds were harder to come by. 

And yet, for such a brutal day, we did pretty well. 

Final tally 

• 58 species 

• 98 points 

• Three five-point birds: Painted Bunting, Rusty Blackbird, and Black Vulture 

The Twitcher’s third five-point bird, a Black Vulture. Photo by Leo McKillop.

Both the Painted Bunting and Black Vulture were new for the Twitchers, and the Rusty Blackbird hadn’t been recorded by the team in Hampton since 2009.  

Most importantly, no fingers or toes were lost to frostbite (though heated socks are absolutely happening next year). As a first-year competitor, I came away in awe of the dedication, planning, and teamwork that make the Superbowl of Birding such a special event. 

A huge thank you to Mass Audubon for hosting, to my incredible teammates, and to Holly Bauer for generously hosting us the night before. Congratulations to the WILD CARDinals for receiving the Townie Award in Rye, NH.  

A special thank you to everyone who has donated in support of the Twitchers, who were fundraising for New Hampshire Bird Records—now online as The Joy of Birding. Thanks to your generosity, we’ve raised $5,000 so far. If you’d like to support this work, donations are still welcome and greatly appreciated. If you made a creative pledge to support the team, I’ll be in touch shortly. 

Thank you all for a great event! 

Twitchers Donation Link: https://nhaudubon.org/make-a-donation-to-twitchers/ . 

Full Species List 
Canada Goose 
Mallard 
American Black Duck 
Greater Scaup 
Common Eider 
Surf Scoter 
White-winged Scoter 
Black Scoter 
Long-tailed Duck 
Bufflehead 
Common Goldeneye 
Red-breasted Merganser 
Wild Turkey 
Rock Pigeon 
Mourning Dove 
Sanderling 
Dunlin 
Ring-billed Gull 
American Herring Gull 
Great Black-backed Gull 
Horned Grebe 
Red-necked Grebe 
Red-throated Loon 
Common Loon 
Great Cormorant 
Turkey Vulture 
Cooper’s Hawk 
Bald Eagle 
Red-tailed Hawk 
Great Horned Owl 
Barred Owl 
Red-bellied Woodpecker 
Downy Woodpecker 
Blue Jay 
American Crow 
Common Raven 
Black-capped Chickadee 
Tufted Titmouse 
Horned Lark 
White-breasted Nuthatch 
Carolina Wren 
European Starling 
Northern Mockingbird 
Eastern Bluebird 
American Robin 
House Sparrow 
House Finch 
American Goldfinch 
Snow Bunting 
American Tree Sparrow 
Dark-eyed Junco 
White-throated Sparrow 
Savannah Sparrow 
Song Sparrow 
Rusty Blackbird 
Northern Cardinal 
Painted Bunting 
Black Vulture 

*New to the Twitchers (for the Superbowl of Birding birds are bolded).

A Note on the Painted Bunting: The homeowner very generously allowed Superbowl of Birding competitors and others to access the backyard today. However, they have asked that their privacy be respected going forward, and they will no longer be granting access to their property.