Birding Team Closes in on $2 Million in Conservation Fundraising

Cornell Lab of Ornithology team returns to defend World Series of Birding title

May 2, 2007

Ithaca, NY—It’s a milestone year for Team Sapsucker, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s competitive birding team. They’re the returning champions at this year’s World Series of Birding, being held May 12 in New Jersey. The Sapsuckers are also poised to break the two-million-dollar mark in conservation funds raised in the event since the Lab first fielded a team in 1984. And they’re joined this year by the Lab’s first-ever student team, the Redheads (named for the Cornell “Big Red” slogan).

Teams gather pledges for each species of bird they can identify by sight or sound during the midnight-to-midnight event, also known as the “Big Day.” Last year Team Sapsucker swept all the top categories. They identified the most species overall (229), they were the top out-of-state team, and they raised the most money for bird conservation, $180,000 in pledges. All five members of the winning Sapsucker team are back.

“The excitement is building,” says team co-captain Ken Rosenberg. “All the other teams will be gunning for us, so we have to stay really focused, do some great scouting ahead of time, and have our route timed out perfectly.”

		The Sapsuckers and the Redheads hold a strategy session. Photo by Tim Lenz

The veterans are sharing their know-how with their talented young teammates, suggesting how to plan the best routes to make the most of every minute. The Redheads will be competing in the “limited geographic area” category, concentrating their efforts in Cape May County, New Jersey. The Sapsuckers will again be found careening up and down the entire state.

“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,” says Cornell senior and Redhead team captain Ben Winger.

Both teams are accepting pledges which will be used to fund a variety of Neotropical bird conservation programs at the Lab, including expansion of the eBird citizen-science project to Latin America, studying the illegal capture of Painted Buntings for the caged-bird trade, and tracking wintering bird populations in Latin America. Funds will also support undergraduate research work in bird conservation. Every cent goes into these causes because expenses for both teams are being underwritten by long-time sponsor, Swarovski Optik.

To find out more about the teams and make your pledge for the Big Day, visit the Lab’s World Series of Birding web site at www.birds.cornell.edu/wsb or call (800) 843-BIRD. You can also enter your guess as to how many species will be identified by each team and what time the last species will be identified. Then you’ll be entered for a chance to win a pair of Swarovski binoculars. Please keep checking the web site on May 12 for updates on how many species have been spotted and for the final results.

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