New York's other World Series team, the Sapsuckers from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, are scanning the skies of the Garden State in hopes that 2000 will be the year they finally take top honors in the World Series of Birding, scheduled for Saturday, May 13, in New Jersey.

After preliminary scouting missions, the Sapsuckers, who are staff members at the lab, will compete against some of birding's best, starting at midnight, to see which team can identify the most species by sight and sound during the next 24 hours.

For many teams, the competition is a 600-plus-mile road trip, all within the Garden State. Winning requires expert identification skills, marathon-like stamina, take-no-prisoners strategy, and old-fashioned teamwork. Top prize is the highly coveted Urner-Stone Cup. To the Cornell Lab Sapsuckers, like other teams, victory also means raising crucial dollars for birds.

Last year, the Sapsuckers took home the prestigious Stearns Trophy for highest out-of-state team total and placed second overall, their 220-species score falling just shy of the winning 223. But more important, they shattered their previous fund-raising records by hauling in an astounding $120,000 in pledges – far more than any other team.

More information on the World Series of Birding, also known as the Big Day, as well as opportunities to pledge to conservation work of the Cornell laboratory, are available by visiting the web site: http://birds.cornell.edu or by calling toll-free (800) 843-2473. The Sapsuckers take their name from the Sapsucker Woods nature preserve where the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology is located.

Although it's all for a good cause, the Sapsuckers, like the best teams in any sport, want – and fully expect – to win. "It's so close we can taste it," said John Fitzpatrick, director of the Cornell Lab and co-captain of the Sapsuckers. "To come so close last year has just made us want it all the more this year, not just for us but for the birds."

Inaugurated in 1984 by the New Jersey Audubon Society, the World Series of Birding has hosted – and broken the spirits of – many of the world's top birders. It was enjoyed by the late Roger Tory Peterson, the "Dean of American Birders," who set a record as part of an illustrious team the first year of the event. Since then hundreds of birders from across the United States, Canada, even Europe and India, have tested their mettle against the weather and habitats of New Jersey before crossing the midnight finish line in Cape May.

Teams consist of three to six experts who follow a strict set of rules and code of ethics in order to compete. They also put up a registration fee (usually paid by corporate sponsors) that goes to support the conservation work of the New Jersey Audubon Society.

"Competitive birding is an exciting way to raise awareness of birds and their habitats," said Fitzpatrick. "The World Series of Birding is the best and most well known of the competitive birding events, allowing organizations including the Lab of Ornithology to raise much needed funds for important conservation projects."

Fitzpatrick said that this year's pledges are earmarked for the lab's Golden-winged Warbler Atlas Project, which will index current breeding strongholds and habitat needs for a species experiencing serious population declines.

The Cornell laboratory already has broken last year's record of $540-per-species pledged and expects that number to continue to rise right up until the Big Day. As in previous years, Swarovski Optik is sponsoring the team, covering the cost of expenses. Dorling Kindersley, publishers of the new National Audubon Society Birders Handbook, is donating copies as a premium for supporters pledging $1 or higher per species. This sponsorship means that all of the lab's pledge money raised for the Big Day will go directly to conservation work.