'Just another passion': Bennett Birding Classic counts birds and raises funds to save them

Dan McAskill has been birding since he was a boy and he'll be putting that experience to the test at the end of September for the Bennett Birding Classic.

"We've been birding now for 60-some years, so it's just another passion," McAskill told Island Morning's Matt Rainnie.

This is the 24th classic, and McAskill has been a part of all of them. On Sept. 29, teams of birdwatchers set out to track as many species as they can on P.E.I., aiming to beat the record of 107 species spotted.

McAskill's day will start early, at about 2 a.m. He and his team will be searching for owls along the south bank of the Hillsborough River.

They call it birdwatching, but it's hard to see an owl in the middle of the night. Instead, the team will bird listen, playing owl calls, listening for responses, and identifying species that way.

McAskill will record every species he sees but there are a few in particular he is hoping to spot.

"Peregrine falcon is always a beautiful bird to watch," he said.

"Should we happen to hit an influx of migrating birds then there may be quite a few hawks and falcons around East Point."

Over decades of birding on P.E.I. McAskill has seen changes. The house sparrow, once all over the Island, can now be difficult to spot. On the other hand mourning doves, rare in the 1950s, are fairly common.

The Bennett Birding Classic is in itself an important part of keeping track of bird species on the Island, McAskill said, and the event is also a fundraiser, with participants taking pledges for the benefit of Island Nature Trust and protecting bird habitat.

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With files from Island Morning