Jackson man participates
in winning birding effort

"Cheep Trills" may be a humorous name, but the team representing the Monmouth County Audubon Society in the World Series of Birding turned in a serious effort recently to win in the competition’s Limited Geographic Area (LGA) category.

Starting at midnight on a Friday, team members Dena Temple and John Temple of Middletown, Debbie Grob of Farming-dale, Michael Casper of Jackson and Fred Virrazzi of Carteret combed Monmouth County in search of birds.

Slogging through marshes, walking miles of trails and along country roads, and hooting for owls in county parks netted the "extreme" birders a total of 167 species of birds within the boundaries of Monmouth County — enough to walk away with top honors in the category.

The team’s purpose is to raise much-needed funds for the Monmouth County Audubon Society and New Jersey Audubon Society’s Sandy Hook Bird Observatory, according to a press release. They estimate that the team’s 24-hour odyssey raised nearly $2,000 for the organizations. In all, 67 teams participated in the event.

The object of the competition is fairly simple: to identify as many different species of birds within the state as possible in a 24-hour period. Birds can be identified by sight or sound. Most teams partici­pate statewide, but there are divi­sions for county-only contests, chil­dren’s teams, seniors, even a "Big Sit" category — to tally species seen from one location in 24 hours.

The competition can be grueling. Sleep deprivation and fatigue are major factors, and so is the weather in many cases, according to the press release. Competi-tors may run from their vehicle to a "pinned-down" bird, see or hear it, then race back to sit cheek-to-cheek in a rental van anticipating their next stop. Close proximity to their fellow teammates can also breed friction over the course of the day.

"We all know that Monmouth County is an amazing place, but I never thought we would win the World Series of Birding," said team captain Dena Temple.

"One of our team members, Fred Virrazzi, was a member of last year’s winning LGA team (they competed in Sussex County), so he knows what it takes to win. He be­lieved it was possible from the start. As we found bird after bird and the numbers climbed, it seemed like anything was possible. That’s when I began to believe.

"At 6 p.m. Saturday we were caught in a storm at the tip of Sandy Hook — lightning, torrential rain, high wind, the works. As the storm ended and the sky cleared, a rainbow emerged. We took it as a sign [that] this miracle of nature signaled our own miracle, too," she said.

The team faxed their results to the official "finish line" for the event in Cape May a few minutes before midnight on Saturday. They were notified of their victory at 2 a.m. Sunday.

The team members traveled to Cape May on Sunday morning to accept their award.

"The five of us spent 24 hours to­gether in a minivan, and that’s not easy," said team member Debbie Grob, "but we were more than willing to pile into the van one last time to pick up our award."

Donations can still be made at www.monmouthaudubon.org.

The Monmouth County Audubon Society, a chapter of the National Audubon Society, is dedicated to the enjoyment and study of nature, wildlife conservation, habitat protection and education.

Meetings are held the second Wednes-day of each month September through May at Trinity Episcopal Church, White Street, Red Bank; guest speakers address a wide variety of nature-related topics, and refresh­ments are provided. In addition, the group sponsors at least one field trip per month, and members re­ceive The Osprey, the club’s newsletter.

Further information can be obtained by calling (732) USA-BIRD; by visiting the Internet Web site www.monmouthaudubon.org; or by sending an e-mail to mcas01@bellatlantic.net.