Sapsuckers in action.

It's official! The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Team Sapsucker has successfully defended its championship. At the awards ceremony the Sapsuckers collected the Urner Stone cup for the second year in a row. They also received the Stearns Award for the best out-of-state team. That chunk of granite will have a permanent home at the Lab, since New Jersey Audubon announced today they would be retiring that category.

The Sapsuckers identified 230 species on the Big Day, a new record for the team and just one species shy of the all-time record for the event. Their nearest rivals tallied 227 species, with both the Delaware Valley Ornithological Society and Connecticut Audubon tied at that number.

The Sapsuckers started the day Saturday with a Sora and several rails on their northern route. They got their last bird at about 8:22 P.M.--a Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow. Co-captain Ken Rosenberg said that is also a first for the team.

The new student team, the Redheads, also did extremely well. They competed in the "limited geographic area" division and did all their birding in Cape May County. Their day started with a Marsh Wren and ended with the Royal Tern at 7:15 P.M. The team placed second overall in their category, surpassed only by the Maryland Ornithological Society team, which tallied 184 species.

Congratulations to both Team Sapsucker and the Redheads for all their hard work during the week of scouting leading up to the event and for their skilled execution on the Big Day! And a most sincere "Thank You" to all who pledged their support to the teams and to Swarovski Optik for their sponsorship. Watch for more Big
Day details in the days ahead after the teams get some sleep and return home!