Superbowl of Birding VIII - January 29, 2011
Winter is a wonderful time to bird in northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire. In celebration of this season, the Joppa Flats Education Center is hosting the Superbowl of Birding VIII on Saturday, January 29, 2011 - 5am to 5pm (Snow date: Sunday, January 30).
Superbowls I-VII were great successes with teams from as far away as Delaware and Pennsylvania participating. The challenge is renewed this year, with prizes awarded in nine categories!
This is a unique competition to find the greatest number of species and to earn the greatest number of points based on the rarity of the birds recorded. The Joppa Cup is awarded to the team that collects the most points by the end of the specified 12-hour birding day. Strategy and planning are essential in order to win this competition.
The event consists of activities targeted for all levels of birders. Beginning birders, or those who prefer indoor birding at this time of year, can join Joppa Flats naturalists in the indoor bird blind to establish a new January standard for the Center. More experienced birders can form a team of their own. There are also categories for teams with younger members.
Prizes will be awarded in the following categories:
- The Joppa Cup: Grand prize for the team with the greatest number of points
- Director's Award: Greatest number of species
- Essex County Excels Award: Most points in Essex County
- Rockingham County Rocks Award: Most points in Rockingham County
- Parker River NWR Award: Most points on the refuge
- Sitting Duck Award: Award for the greatest number of species tallied from a fixed point
- Seekers Award: Award for the first team to complete the special Seekers checklist
- Fledgling Award: Award for the first team to complete the special Fledgling checklist
- NewBies Award: Award for the greatest number of points tallied by any team with 2 or more members 18 years of age or younger
- Lifer Award: Participant who sees the most new life birds during the competition
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