Archive: Around Town

Fresh from final exams, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s student birding team is ready to cut loose on Saturday, May 14, at the 28th annual World Series of Birding in New Jersey. The Redheads (named for Cornell “Big Red” sports team—and a duck species called a Redhead) are two-time champions in the Cape May County division of the competition. Last year’s team identified 175 species. During the World Series, teams converge from across the country to raise funds for bird conservation by collecting pledges for each species tallied by sight or sound during the midnight-to-midnight contest.

Redhead member and freshman Andy Johnson has been to the World Series of Birding once before but this is his first attempt as part of the Cornell team. “This is really exciting,” said Johnson, “being able to join a group of fantastic birders for a whirlwind of migrants and sleep deprivation, all while raising money for undergraduate research and training.”

Newcomer Hope Batcheller said, “I've enjoyed the World Series in the past, and am ecstatic to join the Redheads this year. The combination of raising money for research and conservation and 24 hours of bird-induced hyperactivity puts this day among the best birding events, and I look forward to whatever adventures lie ahead.”


Veteran Redhead Jay McGowan is this year’s captain and brings experience from five previous World Series to put the team through its paces. “You can never be sure what you’ll find,” said McGowan. “There’s always the risk that a species you’ve seen for the past few days will decide to migrate on the day of the competition, or the weather won’t cooperate. But the unknowns are part of what make this so much fun!”

“I'm very much looking forward to just being in Cape May in the spring,” said Redhead Scott Haber, a returning member of the very first Redhead team in 2007. “Birding in this part of New Jersey is a phenomenal experience whether or not you're participating in the World Series!”

The Cornell Lab is also fielding a carbon-neutral team, the Anti-Petrels. The Anti-Petrels do their birding by bicycle and last year won the Cape May County division with 150 species.

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