World Series of Birding in the news

Courier-Post:

Starting at midnight tonight, birders from 25 states and four foreign countries will fan out across New Jersey for the annual World Series of Birding.

By the end of the 24-hour competition, midnight Saturday, the winning team will most likely have identified well over 200 different species in the course of their travels from one end of the state to the other.

Bridgeton News:

MILLVILLE -- Members of the new Fish Hawks birding team for Saturday's World Series of Birding gathered Thursday to introduce the team representing Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River and its Tributaries (CU).

All the members are veterans of former prestigious birding events, including the WSB, and they have come from a wide area to participate.

They will raise awareness of the many wonders Cumberland County has to offer by restricting their search to Cumberland County only.

KYW Newsradio 1060:

The 24th Annual World Series of Birding begins Friday night in New Jersey and hundreds of people are expected to take part.

More than 100 teams of bird enthusiasts will spread out over the Garden State and count as many birds as they can see or hear in a 24-hour period beginning at midnight. Pete Dunne, director of the New Jersey Audubon Society's Cape May Bird Observatory, explains how the teams do the count:

"The team will go to a hot location, a place that is on their prescribed route, they will get out scour the area and get back in the car and drive to the next site, and then between sites, that's when you do your recording. Because say you don't want to leave North Jersey without having a black cap chickadee because when you get south, they're not here, we have Carolina chickadees down here."

Asbury Park Press:

Bird lovers from across New Jersey came out today to compete in the 24th Annual World Series of Birding.

Based throughout the state with Audubon Centers in Cape May and Fort Hancock at Sandy Hook, among others, the event raises money for bird conservation.

Birders of all levels can participate in the team competition, non-competing team or individual, youth competition, and senior competition. The birders have sponsors donate money for each bird they spot, and approximately $600,000 is raised annually, according to Pete Bacinski, director of the Sandy Hook Bird Observatory.

NBC40.net:

ABSECON - These young nature observers are putting their skills to the test in the sixth to eighth grade division of the World Series of Birding.

They're trying to beat their record of spotting 42 species last year and in the process are raising money for a nature habitat at their school.

"This is just a really great way for them to learn about the different habitats and the different birds. We also are looking at different animals, so they're having a ball," says chaperone Cindy Ahern of Hunting Valley, PA.

"I would really like to see a Golden Eagle, I've never seen one. What are the odds of seeing one today? They're kind of against us," says Eric Ahern.

PressofAtlanticCity.com:

CAPE MAY POINT — The goal was to fight global warming, and the money for the fight was literally flying right by their faces.
Well, sometimes it was flying by. Other times it was wading in a mud flat, perching on a tree or soaring high in the sky. The money took the form of a Mississippi kite, a pair of red-headed woodpeckers, a cerulean warbler and many other birds spotted by the bird-watching team Union of Concerned Birders. Each new species they identified meant another pledge from a sponsor.

“We're going to raise over $5,000 for the Union of Concerned Scientists,” said Paul Kerlinger, a member of the team.