Lab double-teams the World Series of Birding

This year's World Series of Birding on May 12, 2007, will feature not only the veterans of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Team Sapsucker, but also the Lab's first-ever student team—five highly skilled birders who call themselves the Redheads in honor of the Cornell Big Red.

Cornell senior Ben Winger says, "We have a really tight-knit community of undergraduate birders here at Cornell. We don't have the experience of the Sapsuckers, but we're all dedicated birders."

The Redheads have a lot to live up to after Team Sapsucker's win last year. The Sapsuckers identified the most species (229) in New Jersey on the Big Day and raised the most money for bird conservation—$180,000.

All five members of the winning Sapsucker team are competing again this year. "We're eating our Cheerios, getting ready to vigorously defend the championship," says cocaptain Ken Rosenberg.

The new student team includes juniors and seniors studying ornithology at Cornell. "Part of the reason we want to do this is to highlight the strengths of Cornell and the Lab in training and promoting the next generation of ornithologists," Ben Winger says.

The student and veteran teams are hoping for wins in different categories. The Redheads will focus on Cape May County in the competition for "limited geographic area." Team Sapsucker will take on the entire state.

Money pledged to either team will fund the Lab's Neotropical Bird Conservation programs, including the expansion of eBird to Latin America, the new Priority Migrant Monitoring Project www.ebird.org/primig, and conservation efforts on behalf of Painted Buntings captured in the illegal caged-bird trade. The funds will also support undergraduate research in bird conservation.

To support these causes, you can pledge any amount per species found. Long-time sponsor Swarovski Optik is covering the cost of the team's expenses, so every cent you pledge helps the birds.

As part of our thanks, you'll receive a follow-up letter with details of the teams' adventures on the Big Day, plus a first-rate Swarovski binocular strap for a pledge of $1 or more per species, or a magnetic notepad illustrated with the birds of Sapsucker Woods for a pledge of 50 cents or more per species.

You'll also have a chance to win a pair of Swarovski binoculars. When you pledge, just guess how many species the teams will identify, and the time when they'll find the last species.

To make your pledge for the Big Day, and get the latest updates, visit www.birds.cornell.edu/wsb or call (800) 843-BIRD. Go Sapsuckers! Go Redheads!

—Pat Leonard

For permission to reprint all or part of this article, please contact Laura Erickson, editor, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd., Ithaca, NY, 14850. Phone: (607) 254-1114. email: lle24@cornell.edu