This year's World Series of Birding had a record 98 teams competing and I am happy to say the "Overdue Ospreys" did everything except live up to our name!  This was our breakout year by far.  191 species were checked off one of the most prestigious one day checklists in North American birding.  That's 10 more then any "Big Day" checklist in our short (four year) history as a team.  Our team consists of myself, Mark Boyd, Adam Sabitine and Jake Mohlmann and we had one of those days where we could do little wrong!

Adam and Jake, West Virginia U. and Penn State U. respectively, have been submersed in birding as they both have been working with some of the most esteemed leaders of the birding community doing research, including nocturnal flight work and breeding research....a huge help.  They were so prepared it was impressive to witness!  On a side note, Adam has been on a roll since....maybe you heard about the European Storm-Petrels in North Carolina?  It was he and two other fellows that discovered them recently.  So with the young ears and eyes of those two coupled with the scouting and preparation of the rest of the team, we kicked some tail feathers if ya know what I mean!

I scouted the north section for a total of 9 days prior to the event and Jake scouted Cape May 3 days prior.  Mark and Adam helped when they were available as well.  Unlike many other teams, we scouted by ourselves without the distractions of competitive help....in the North anyway.  Quite frankly we are kind of known as the "Rock n Rollers" of the Birding world....not always conducive to hanging out with the stereotypical elite of birding.  We respect and like them and they like us, don’t get me wrong, we just are a little different in our approach I guess you could say!  Enough said.

We started at Great Swamp NWR and the swamp gods smiled on us!  Least Bittern, Sora, Nighthawk and Woodcock were on the list by 12:14a.m! Then American Bittern (we had 9 total), Virginia Rail, King Rail, Barred Owl and a few others.  15 Birds total by 12:48a.m.  It was truly magical! This set the tone for the rest of the day.  Even so, Kearny was a bust as we couldn't get in to our normal spots but DeKorte (the Meadowlands) held some of the goodies we needed under the urban glow of metro Jersey.  I would love to continue with a "play by play" account but you will have to look for that on our RTWBC website near summer's end.  It's just too much info for this article!

I will note we left the North with 132 birds.  We of course missed some things we really could have used.  Barn Owl, Goshawk, Sharpie and a few passerines come to mind.  We arrived 20 minutes late at Brigantine NWR (1st stop in the South) but we made it up by getting through "Brig" in 1 hour and 8 minutes!  As we weaved through our southern route, there were times we could do no wrong.  We even took the time to go out of the way to "Bivalve" (aka Mt. Stinkmore) for the 3 ducks we knew were there and needed, as ducks were every team's nemesis this year....including our team.  This proved a great move as we also picked up the Cliff Swallow we lost up north.

To sum it up highlight-wise, we had 29 Warblers, 23 species of shorebirds, all the nightjars, swallows, vireos (except Philly) and woodpeckers possible!  We were proud of our accomplishments.  We lived up to our "rock n roll" reputation by celebrating until daybreak Sunday.  We went to the brunch heads high (and hurting) knowing we were a top ten team on the most competitive year yet!  Next year we WILL be in the 200 club!  Oh yeah, did I mention the Red Sox won the World Series last year?  Anything is possible!  Nikon won again, of course, but my buddy Frank Gallo and his team upset mighty Cornell for the non-resident award!  Well done, Frank!

Thanks to all the folks who pledged our team to raise money for Friends of Stissing Landmarks or Hudson Valley Raptor Center.  Also, a special thanks to my friends John Burr and Andy Patten, of Wild Birds Unlimited Scotch Plains and Randolph, NJ respectively, for covering the SUV rental and hotel rooms for the team.  If anyone still needs to send in their pledges here are the addresses:

Wildcare Inc., Hudson Valley Raptor Center
148 South Rd., Standfordville, NY 12581

Friends of Stissing Landmarks
P.O. Box 37, Pine Plains, NY 12567

Wings Over Dutchess, June 2005

For more information about the World Series of Birding and this year's results, visit the
New Jersey Audubon Society website.