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Cornell Students Ace Birding Competition
World Series of Birding raises funds for bird research and conservation
For release: May 16, 2013
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Team Redhead (L-R): Ben Barkley, Benjamin Van Doren
Andy Johnson, Teresa Pegan, and Jack Hruska. |
Ithaca, N.Y.—Thanks to skill, lots of practice, and a little bit of luck, five intrepid Cornell University students tallied 166 species of birds in 24 hours to capture the Cape May County division championship at the World Series of Birding in New Jersey on May 11. In doing so, Team Redhead (named for a species of duck and for the Cornell “Big Red” athletic teams) raised tens of thousands of dollars for undergraduate research and conservation projects.
Their victory came despite cold, rainy, windy weather that makes hearing and seeing birds especially challenging. The first bird tallied was a Canada Goose at 12:20 a.m. and the last was an Eastern Screech-Owl—species number 166, added to The Redheads’ checklist at about 10:00 p.m.
In between, the team operated like a well-oiled machine, covering Cape May County’s forests, marshes, and coastal habitats to tally the expected and the unexpected, everything from rails and warblers, to very unusual sightings of a Brown Pelican and a Red-breasted Merganser.
“We put so much work in beforehand, studying the songs, holding team meetings, and then we work like crazy during scouting, and on the day of the competition. To find out we won was just incredible,” said team co-captain Ben Barkley. “We made sure we ran between every stop—running to the car, running back to the car, we were all out and we worked incredibly well together.”
Team Redhead was motivated by more than a trophy. Donations from supporters helped the team raise funds for Cornell Lab of Ornithology undergraduate students' research. That makes it "extremely satisfying" Barkley says, "We're so grateful to our supporters for helping to make some really neat student projects possible." The Redhead Fund has been used in studies of climate change, bird migration, and other topics as well as for an expedition to Peru that resulted in the discovery of a new bird species.
Donations to support the team's cause are still being accepted at www.birds.cornell.edu/wsb/give.
Members of the 2013 Redheads are Ben Barkley, Andy Johnson, Teresa Pegan, Benjamin Van Doren, and Jack Hruska.
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Contact:
Pat Leonard, (607) 254-2137, pel27@cornell.edu
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