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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. Forms of competition 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 team ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Jersey Audubon Society
The New Jersey Audubon is an environmental education and conservation advocacy organization. Founded in 1897, it is one of New Jersey's largest environmental organizations, with several staffed nature centers, dozens of unstaffed sanctuaries, and thousands of members throughout New Jersey and beyond. New Jersey Audubon is an independent organization and is not affiliated with the National Audubon Society. Activities According to its website, the New Jersey Audubon Society, "fosters environmental awareness and a conservation ethic among New Jersey's citizens; protects New Jersey's birds, mammals, other animals, and plants, especially endangered and threatened species; and promotes preservation of New Jersey's valuable natural habitats." New Jersey Audubon carries out this mission in a number of ways. Some of its recent conservation efforts have included working together with state and federal legislators to secure funding for wildlife conservation, trying to get a moratorium pas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is located in Morris County, New Jersey. Established in 1960, it now is among what has grown to be more than 550 refuges in the United States National Wildlife Refuge System. The initial portion of the Great Swamp that was assembled and donated for perpetual preservation by the park service of the federal government was declared a National Natural Landmark in May 1966. It has grown several times with the assemblage of additional lands. Its eastern half () was designated as a wilderness by Congress in 1968, making it the first wilderness area within the Fish and Wildlife Service. Since about 1966, it has been managed by the Morris County Park Commission. Administration The refuge is managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency within the United States Department of the Interior. Refuge lands lie within the townships of Chatham, Harding, and Long Hill. History Geologic The Great Swamp is the remnant of the bott ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Birdwatchers
This is a list of notable birdwatchers and of people who are notable in their own right but also happen to be birdwatchers. First are listed birdwatchers with large ''life lists'', which is based on the number of species of birds each of them has/had seen. Depending on the taxonomic viewpoint, there are 10,721 ( Clements V2019) or 10,787 ( IOC ver. 10.2) living bird species recognised. Large life lists As of 21 November 2022 according to the Surfbirds website, there are 22 birders who have added 9,000 or more species of birds to their life list. An additional 37 birders have added at least 8,000 species of life birds. These 59 birders include: * Claes-Göran Cederlund: 9,761/ 9,769 (#1 on Surfbirds, #1 on igoterra). Deceased 2020) * Peter Kaestner: 9,728 / 9,728 / 9,559 (#2 on Surfbirds—#1 of those still living) / #2 on igoterra / #1 on eBird). Discovered the Cundinamarca antpitta (''Grallaria kaestneri''), which was subsequently named after him. First birder to see a repre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Year
A big year is a personal challenge or an informal competition among birders who attempt to identify as many species of birds as possible by sight or sound, within a single calendar year and within a specific geographic area. Popularized in North America, big years are commonly carried out within a single U.S. state or Canadian province, or within larger areas such as the Lower 48 contiguous states, within the official American Birding Association (ABA) area, or sometimes the entire globe. The ABA big year record of 840 species was set by Andrew Pochonita of Southern California in 2019. The big year world record of 6,852 species was set in 2016 by Arjan Dwarshuis of the Netherlands. History of North American big years The wide publication in 1934 of the first modern field guide by Roger Tory Peterson truly revolutionized birding. However, in that era, most birders did not travel widely. The earliest known continent-wide Big Year record was compiled by Guy Emerson, a traveling ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Raven
The common raven (''Corvus corax'') is a large all-black passerine bird. It is the most widely distributed of all corvids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. It is a raven known by many names at the subspecies level; there are at least eight subspecies with little variation in appearance, although recent research has demonstrated significant genetic differences among populations from various regions. It is one of the two largest corvids, alongside the thick-billed raven, and is possibly the heaviest passerine bird; at maturity, the common raven averages in length and in mass. Although their typical lifespan is considerably shorter, common ravens can live more than 23 years in the wild. Young birds may travel in flocks but later mate for life, with each mated pair defending a territory. Common ravens have coexisted with humans for thousands of years and in some areas have been so numerous that people have regarded them as pests. Part of their success as a species is due ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Purple Finch
The purple finch (''Haemorhous purpureus'') is a bird in the finch family, Fringillidae. Taxonomy This species and the other "American rosefinches" were formerly included with the rosefinches of Eurasia in the genus ''Carpodacus''; however, the three North American species are not closely related to the rosefinches of the Old World, and have thus been moved to the genus ''Haemorhous'' by most taxonomic authorities. It is included in the finch family, Fringillidae, which is made up of passerine birds found in the northern hemisphere, Africa, and South America. The purple finch was originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789. There are two subspecies of the purple finch, ''H. p. purpureus'' and ''H. p. californicus''. ''H. p. californicus'' was identified by Spencer F. Baird in 1858. It differs from the nominate subspecies in that it has a longer tail and shorter wings. The plumage of both males and females is darker, and the coloration of the females is more greenis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bitterns
Bitterns are birds belonging to the subfamily Botaurinae of the heron family Ardeidae. Bitterns tend to be shorter-necked and more secretive than other members of the family. They were called ''hæferblæte'' in Old English; the word "bittern" came to English from Old French ''butor'', itself from Gallo-Roman ''butitaurus'', a compound of Latin ''būtiō'' (buzzard) and ''taurus'' (bull). Bitterns usually frequent reed beds and similar marshy areas and feed on amphibians, reptiles, insects, and fish. Bitterns, like herons, egrets, and pelicans, fly with their necks retracted, unlike the similar storks, ibises, and spoonbill Spoonbills are a genus, ''Platalea'', of large, long-legged wading birds. The spoonbills have a global distribution, being found on every continent except Antarctica. The genus name ''Platalea'' derives from Ancient Greek and means "broad", refe ...s, which fly with necks outstretched. Species There are currently 14 species divided into three genera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rallidae
The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small- to medium-sized, ground-living birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules. Many species are associated with wetlands, although the family is found in every terrestrial habitat except dry deserts, polar regions, and alpine areas above the snow line. Members of the Rallidae occur on every continent except Antarctica. Numerous island species are known. The most common rail habitats are marshland and dense forest. They are especially fond of dense vegetation.Horsfall & Robinson (2003): pp. 206–207 Name "Rail" is the anglicized respelling of the French ''râle'', from Old French ''rasle''. It is named from its harsh cry, in Vulgar Latin *''rascula'', from Latin ''rādere'' ("to scrape"). Morphology The rails are a family of small to medium-sized, ground-living birds. They vary in length from and in weight from . Some species have long necks and in many ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Owls
Owls are birds from the Order (biology), order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly Solitary animal, solitary and Nocturnal animal, nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers adapted for silent flight. Exceptions include the diurnal northern hawk-owl and the gregarious burrowing owl. Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish. They are found in all regions of the Earth except the polar ice caps and some remote islands. Owls are divided into two Family (biology), families: the True owl, true (or typical) owl family, Strigidae, and the barn-owl family, Tytonidae. A group of owls is called a "parliament". Anatomy Owls possess large, forward-facing eyes and ear-holes, a hawk-like beak, a flat face, and usually a conspicuous circle of feathers, a facial disc, around each eye. The feathers making u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gateway National Recreation Area
Gateway National Recreation Area is a U.S. National Recreation Area in New York City and Monmouth County, New Jersey. It provides recreational opportunities that are not commonly found in a dense urban environment, including ocean swimming, bird watching, boating, hiking and camping. Ten million people visit Gateway annually. Gateway was created by the U.S. Congress in 1972 to preserve and protect scarce or unique natural, cultural, and recreational resources with relatively convenient access by a high percentage of the nation's population. It is owned by the federal government and managed by the National Park Service. Creation In 1969, the Regional Plan Association proposed a new national seashore in the New York metropolitan area, to be administered by the United States Department of the Interior. U.S. President Richard Nixon put his support behind a very similar proposal in 1970, with one significant change: instead of being designated a "seashore", the protected area wou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is a national recreation area administered by the National Park Service in northwest New Jersey and northeast Pennsylvania. It is centered around a stretch of the Delaware River designated the Middle Delaware National Scenic River. At the area's southern end lays the Delaware Water Gap, a dramatic mountain pass where the river cuts between Blue Mountain and Kittatinny Mountain More than 4 million people visit the recreation area annually, many from the nearby New York metropolitan area. Canoeing, kayaking, and rafting trips down the river are popular in the summer. Other activities include hiking, rock climbing, swimming, fishing, hunting, camping, cycling, cross-country skiing, and horseback riding. Worthington State Forest and a section of the long-distance Appalachian Trail are located within the area, alongside numerous waterfalls and historic sites. The region, known historically as the Minisink, was inhabited by the Mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
