The World Series of Birding adapts to coronavirus

The World Series of Birding, held in New Jersey for the past 37 years, had to adapt because of the pandemic. Typically, participants compete to see who can spot the most species of birds in a 24 hour period. According to NJSpotlight.com, this year the event was not confined to New Jersey, but spread 'throughout the 18 states that occupy the Atlantic Flyway, the East Coast migratory route that brings millions of North American breeding birds north from Central and South America every spring.'

Instead of having birders from all the world flocking to New Jersey, the birders were required to stray no more than 10 miles from home and team members were only allowed to bird with members of their household. The New Jersey Audubon Society (which sponsors the event) says that the change in rules encouraged more people to join the competition. Novice birders got their first taste of identifying and cataloging various species.

In a typical World Series, about 250 species are sighted. With the relaxed rules, the number of species spotted by all teams was 328 and the winning team spotted 274. According to NJSpotlight.com, the event raised $187,000 for the New Jersey Audubon Society.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle. Any opinions expressed are Bill Doyle's own.