World Series of Birding Report

By Andy Bankert

Now that the Hermit Thrushes that took fifteen minutes from our route, or the Nashville Warbler that prevented our 30 warbler day, or that Gull Tower that we could not find are not fresh in our minds, we can write about the World Series experience that keeps amazing participants year after year.

The participants for this year's team, the Nikon Space Coast Blue Oystercatcher Cult consisted of the four team members Andy Bankert, team captain from Florida who arrived up north late on Thursday and only scouted for the dry run in the north, Craig Bateman, first year participant who was told the week before the event that his three days of scouting were to be spent in four counties in the south rather than just Cape May County, Erik Enbody, who participated in 2005 on another team and scouted the north for three days and lived in the amazing community that the hotels in Milford, Pennsylvania become for one week out of the year, and Danny Williams, another first timer who was scheduled to scout the south for a week prior to the event, but due to a lacrosse injury did no scouting. The two drivers were both DVOC members Debbie Beer, who is the conservation chair of the club, and Win Schafer, who changed our stereotype about the athleticism of people too old to compete in the youth division. This event would also not be possible if it weren't for the help of numerous people we did not encounter on the big day. Our parents who sent us to the competition, sponsors Nikon, who provided our optics and covered almost all of the expenses of the trip, and the Space Coast Birding Festival, which picked up the rest of the team's expenses, as well as the organizers of the event and New Jersey Audubon all played a role even more important than scouting.

Some of the most exciting and laid back birding of the big day takes place at night. Great Swamp holds almost all of the night birds, as well as the chance to talk to many teams moments before the competition begins. The air was filled with the sounds of various frogs, toads, bitterns, and rails as the team waited for midnight to hit. Once one of the cell phones read 12:00 the level of seriousness increased. It soon decreased to the normal fooling around as the team cruised through the swamp ticking off the first birds of the day, then pretending to hear birds with other teams near by. High spirits fell came crashing down in the hour-long search for Great-horned Owl that turned into a competition to make the most obnoxious owl calls. A Great-horned finally sounded off, but in the team's less serious mode we ran away for fear of howler monkeys that we thought we heard off in the distance. The night was successful, but dawn couldn't have come sooner. On the other end of the day, darkness came too soon. A Chuck-will's-widow was our first nocturnal species at Brigantine. After that, only two new species were found, but they were good species. As the thunder rolled into the party of teams at Jake's Landing, an American Bittern and Black Rail rounded off our day list. Once the rain hit we gave up for the day and retired to the finish line.

Nighttime stops only accounted for ten percent of the species on the big day. Most of the species are tallied when the sun is up. Common Sense. The grasslands were a precursor for the rest of the north. All the species were found, but in a little more time than allotted for. Breeding sparrows came easy, but five minutes for Pheasant, and five minutes for White-crowned Sparrow, sometimes it seemed too long, but the birds would always call. Unlike previous years, the team sped to spots then spent time on each target. Sapsuckers were amazingly easy this year, outnumbering every other woodpecker. Warblers were ticked off left and right as the four team members and non-driving adult hung out of the van windows. The few stops out of the van were quick and productive. It was the first time two of the team members got to traverse the infamous asshole bog. Home of the Canada Warbler. A few species, Hermit Thrush, Brown Creeper, Blue-headed Vireo, and Louisiana Waterthrush took more time than expected. The front of the team's shirt read "Don't Fear the Creeper," but after a few minutes at a nest there was a sense of fear. The bird finally came to the nest, but only after a bonus Bay-breasted Warbler caught the team's attention. No risks were taken by skipping roads. Van Ness did not hold many species, so skipping it was an option. One White-throated Sparrow, Black-billed Cuckoo, Lincoln's Sparrow, and Golden-winged Warbler later, everyone felt it was a good decision to keep it in the route. A few more species, as well as gas to last the rest of the day, were picked up, and I-80 was crossed at 10:19 with 127 species.

The south is a different land than the north. Binoculars and scopes replace ears as the best way to locate new species. The south consists of many spaced out stops, unlike the flowing north. One problem that the team faced was a rushed schedule to get to Brigantine for ducks. A group of birds that the south was hurting for this year. An encounter with DVOC made Bobwhite an easy day bird. Unlike past years, songbirds came easy. Blue Grosbeak, Summer Tanager, and White-eyed Vireo all took minimal effort. Duck and shorebird diversity was in short supply at most stops. The team used the best of its knowledge from scouting and previous years to get what it could in the short time. Concentration for getting to Brigantine cut out some sexy species like Piping Plover, Red-headed Woodpecker, and Curlew Sandpiper, but these could also suck huge amounts of time away from teams. All of the warblers that would be seen were seen before entering Cape May County. "The County" gave the team a good boost in the day list with highlights being Roseate Tern, Parasitic Jaeger, and Long-tailed Duck. But these bonus birds were just as important as the lone Oystercatcher or Yellow-crowned Night Heron. All birds are worth one point.

The magical 200 mark was well within reach when the team pulled up to Brig. They saw the Gull Tower, but did not know what it was, or go there. Later they would find out this held two species missed on the big day. The refuge was loaded with ducks and shorebirds, but very few new species. Gadwall, Gull-billed Tern, and Little Blue Heron were all added before it got too dark. 199. The team did not know its total, but they knew they were close, or they knew they had 200. A Wilson's Snipe was two hundred. Black Skimmer was the last day bird before it got too dark to see. Then it was up to the forest where the Chuck-will's-widows call.

In the end, 204 was good enough to win the youth division, but Cornell impressed all by scoring 230. The Blue Oystercatcher Cult raised over 4000 dollars for conservation causes in Florida and Michigan, and its three eligible members will return in 2008 to defend their youth division title. Thanks again for your support of conservation through the World Series of Birding.