Annual Piedmont Bird Calling Contest Goes on Stage Tonight

By Bay City News Service

Piedmont High School's nationally known Annual Bird Calling Contest will go on stage at the school's theater tonight.

The 7 p.m. performance at the Alan Harvey Theater will be the 48th annual contest

In keeping with a tradition in place since the 1990s, the top three winners will fly to New York to appear on the Late Night with David Letterman show on May 21.

Students, either solo or in teams of three, will hoot, squawk, chirp, trill, tweet or warble in imitation of a chosen bird. The contestants, often in creative costumes, also present a short skit to give information about their bird.

Last year's winners sang the calls of Greater Prairie Chicken, the Green Heron and the California Quail.

"It's fun. It's definitely a Piedmont tradition," said Amanda Docter, a parent volunteer who helps with publicity for the event. "It's an overarching innocent entertainment and it shows the kids' well-roundedness."

The contest's three judges will determine the score on the basis of three criteria: the authenticity of the call; the poise and delivery of the performers; and the content of the introductory sketch.

The contest was begun in 1963 by Leonard Waxdeck, who Docter said was a beloved science teacher. It has continued almost every year since then except for a two-year hiatus in the 1990s.

The winners began appearing on Johnny Carson's Tonight show in 1976. After Carson retired in 1992, Letterman took over being the annual host of the winners.

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