Another year, another Birding Cup, another huge list of birds observed! This year a combined total of 188 different species were discovered by all teams over a 24-hour period! Congratulations are in order for the 23 teams (of 97 birders!) who put their eyes to their binoculars and made this year’s ‘Cup another great event! Read on to see who tallied the victorious number for each Cup category, the number of species seen by each team, and a complete list of all 188 species observed.
As you may know, the Birding Cup is Shaver’s Creek’s only annual fundraiser. So far this year, teams have raised over $8,000, which will go toward a lakeside dock to accompany the return of Lake Perez! Construction is already underway, so next year’s Birding Cup might see many birders (and, of course, visitors from all over) stopping ashore after gliding around a full lake.
If you haven’t donated yet and would like to, or were waiting to see the full number of species, head on over to the Birding Cup Donations page. We appreciate every contribution!
And we can’t forget to thank those who tweeted along using #BirdingCup on Twitter and Facebook! Using the hashtag and following along made for a fun way for teams to stay in touch during the 24-hour competition. Some highlights are scattered throughout this blog post.
Without further ado, here are the winners of the 2014 Birding Cup!
The Nemesis Birders won the Birding Cup for the third year in a row with an impressive 157 species! Alex Lamoreaux, Ian Gardner, Matt Sabatine, and Mark Mizak faced some stiff competition, but powered through for the win. Read all about their relentless day of birding on the Nemesis Bird blog.
Many teams in Centre and Huntingdon counties vied for the County Cup, which is awarded to the team who finds the most bird species within a single county. But this year’s Cup went to the only team who birded in Juniata county—the Juniata Juncos! Chad Kauffman, Vern Gauthier, Aden Troyer, and Ramsay Koury beat out the competition with 120 species. Holy crow! (Holy fish crow?)
The Birding Boot, awarded to the top team which uses exclusively human-powered transportation—including walking, biking, and boating—also saw intense competition, but 101 Ways to Use a Shoveler powered through and won the Boot for a second year in a row. Their team, consisting of Jon Kauffman, Matt Marsden, Lucy McClain, and Nate McKelvey, checked off 104 species! Bird on!
Finally, the Potter Mug, intended for teams with an average of less than two years of birding experience, goes to Indigo Hunting. Bill Jester, Christie Jester, Zachary Jester, Caleb Jester, Greg Herman, Matthew Herman, and and Emma Herman won the Mug with an incredible 116 species tallied!
The full list of teams participating, and their total number of species seen, is below:
Indigo Hunting (Potter Mug) — 116 species
Bill Jester, Christie Jester, Zachary Jester, Caleb Jester, Greg Herman, Matthew Herman, Emma Herman
No Egrets (Potter Mug) — 87 species
Steve Krahling, Arouet Krahling, Ian Krahling, Nicole Krahling
Purple R.R. Martin’s Larks of Winterfell (Potter Mug) — 76 species
Justin Raymond, Alex Wertz, Matt Colapietro
The Wing Nuts — 142 species
Chris Rebert, Jarred Woolsey, John Kevern, Jason Beale, Jon Smink
(In)Terns (Potter Mug) — 74 species
Sarah Gamble, Zoey Greenburg, Jeremy Clothier, Jonathan Zimmerman
Chip Notes & the Off-Sure Birds (Potter Mug) — 72 species
Chip Taylor, Marie Taylor, Kate Jordan
Raiders of the Lost Lark — 131 species
Paul Brigman, Will Malan, Kevin Ber
Tick McGreer & The Kickers — 108 species
Brian Sedgwick, Brad Peroney, Bill Voigt, Jerod Skebo, Ethan Barton, Ralph Crewe
Nemesis Birders — 157 species
Alex Lamoreaux, Ian Gardner, Matt Sabatine, Mark Mizak
The Loonatics (County Cup—Centre) — 88 species
Melissa Freed, Clinton Rupeka, Liz Short
Sanibel Sandpeckers (County Cup—Centre) — 86 species
Jen Lee, Kathy Ames, Nora Serotkin, Lynn Daniels
Marsh Wrens (County Cup—Centre) — 112 species
Roana Fuller, Susan Braun, Mark Henry, Ruth Henry
101 Ways to Use a Shoveler (County Cup—Huntingdon, Birding Boot) — 104 species
Jon Kauffman, Matt Marsden, Lucy McClain, Nate McKelvie
Plovers After Dark (County Cup—Centre) — 113 species
Nick Thomas, Andy Fedor, Megan Taylor
Willet Peep (County Cup—Centre) — 113 species
Brian Schmoke, Lyndsie Wszola, Sara Mueller, Alyssia Church, Benjamin Vizzachero
Bad Optics (County Cup—Huntingdon) — 116 species
Laurie McLaughlin, Mark McLaughlin, Doug Wentzel, Rob Neitz
Red-rumped Irruptives ( Birding Boot, County Cup—Centre) — 96 species
Joshua Potter, Jeremy Bean, Mik Oyler, Dave Miller, Nathan Holmes
Gearfalcons (Birding Boot) — 89 species
Elora Grahame, Christine Jervis, Joseph Bellehumeur, Jillian Koren, April Sperfslagle
Discovery Semester Team (Potter Mug) — 39 species
Brandon Sterner, Joel Wagner, Nick Schmidt
Huntingdon Hawkeyes — 106 species
Greg Grove, Deb Grove, Dennis McGillicuddy, Laurie McGillicuddy, Lewis Grove
Juniata Juncos (County Cup—Juniata) — 120 species
Chad Kauffman, Vern Gauthier, Aden Troyer, Ramsay Koury
Timberdoodles (Birding Boot)
Jessi Tancraitor, Troy Tancraitor, Evan Tancraitor, Molly Tancraitor, Katy Dirle, Tim Stoddard, Danielle Dirle
IGOR / Vagrants (not officially participating)
Jim Hamilton, Lorraine Hamilton, Steve Back, Andy Back, Abby Back
Bob & Rob (not officially participating) — 83 species
Rob Dickerson, Bob Hosler
Finally, for those interested, here’s a list of all 188 species seen.
GEESE, SWANS, & DUCKS
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Tundra Swan
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Widgeon
American Black Duck
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
GAMEBIRDS
Ring-necked Pheasant
Ruffed Grouse
Wild Turkey
LOONS, GREBES, & CORMORANTS
Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
D-crested Cormorant
HERONS
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron
VULTURES, EAGLES, & HAWKS
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
RAILS & SHOREBIRDS
Virginia Rail
Sora
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Samipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Wilson’s Snipe
American Woodcock
GULLS & TERNS
Bonaparte’s Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Common Tern
DOVES to WOODPECKERS
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Barn Owl
Eastern Screech Owl
Great Horned Owl
Barred Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Eastern Whip-poor-will
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
PERCHING BIRDS
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Winter Wren
Marsh Wren
Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
Swainson’s Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
American Pipit
Cedar Waxwing
Ovenbird
Worm-eating Warbler
Louisiana Waterthrush
Northern Waterthrush
Blue-winged Warbler
Golden-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
American Redstart
Cape May Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Canada Warbler
Wilson’s Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Grasshoper Sparrow
Henslow’s Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
OTHER SPECIES
Surf Scoter
Glossy Ibis
Forster’s Tern
