World Series of Birding

The World Series of Birding is perhaps the world's most famous birding competition. Participants try to identify the greatest number of bird species throughout the state of New Jersey, United States, over a 24-hour period on a Saturday in mid-May. The event is also run as a fundraiser for bird conservation, with participants soliciting pledges for each species they identify. The event is organized by the New Jersey Audubon Society.

There are a number of ways for birders to compete in the World Series of Birding. Teams can either search for birds throughout the state of New Jersey, limit themselves to a particular county, or tally species entirely within one single location. Different awards exist for the teams that find the highest number of species throughout New Jersey (the Urner-Stone Cup), a Limited Geographic Area (the LGA Award), or a single location of no more than a few square yards (the Big Day Big Stay Award). Separate awards also exist for the teams that find the highest species solely within Cape May County and Cape Island (the southern tip of Cape May, south of the Cape May Canal). Finally, different awards exist for the most successful youth teams (with three different age divisions) as well as the most successful all-senior team.

Regardless of what age or geographic classification teams fall under, teams must consist of at least three birders. All members of a team must normally see or hear a species for it to count (though not necessarily the same individual bird), although for each 20 species seen or heard by all team members, a team may count a species seen or heard by at least two, but not all, team members. The competition is run entirely on the honor system—but as there is no prize money to be won, cheating is not considered to be an issue.

The idea for the World Series of Birding came from Pete Dunne, one of America's foremost authors on birding and natural history, and currently the director of the Cape May Bird Observatory. The first World Series of Birding was held on May 19, 1984, and the winning team included Dunne, David Sibley (author of the renowned The Sibley Guide to Birds), Pete Bacinski (current director of the Sandy Hook Bird Observatory), Bill Boyle (author of A Guide to Bird Finding in New Jersey), and the legendary Roger Tory Peterson (inventor of the modern field guide) and was sponsored by Bird Watcher's Digest. Their total included 201 species, including a fork-tailed flycatcher—a tropical species rarely seen anywhere in the United States, let alone New Jersey.

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