Another Blowout World Series for Andy!

By Sarah Linney

For several years Andy Bankert has been participating in the Youth Division of the World Series of Birding. Every May a bunch of birders, grouped into teams of four, descend upon New Jersey for an all-day birding competition. Chauffeured by two non-birding adults, Andy's teen-aged team named the Blue Oystercatcher Cult, started birding a mere second after midnight. After nearly a 24-hour stretch of watching and listening, they managed to find such interesting birds as Black Rail, Parasitic Jaeger, Roseate Tern, and Bay-breasted Warbler (one of 24 warbler species), just to name a few. By the end of the day, the team had ticked 204 species, enough to win the Youth Division!

Thanks to the birding skills of Andy and his teammates and everyone's pledges, Andy raised and contributed about $700 for the Merritt Island Wildlife Association and just over $1,100 for the Space Coast Audubon chapter. Many, many thanks to Andy for thinking of us and for his generous contributions to the chapter!