WELCOME! And thanks for your interest in the Kiptopeke Challenge for 1998! We hope to make this our fourth year the biggest and best ever, and with your participation, we will!

   The idea of a birding competition for fall came about over five years ago, when KESTREL Board Member Brian Taber wondered aloud, "If Cape May can do a World Series, why can't Cape Charles do a Super Bowl?" And so it was that in 1995, several rag-tag teams banded together to poke around the pokeberry bushes, ponds, marshes, flats, ocean and bay sites on Virginia's Eastern Shore to find as many birds as feasible (with occasional stops to shop for decoys, fresh peaches, corn, etc.) in a 24-hour period. The result have been impressive: 189 species in three years in October or September, including some hum-dingers like Curlew Sandpiper, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, American White Pelican, Mourning Warbler, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Philadelphia Vireo, Eared Grebe, Golden-winged Warbler, and many other elusive Virginia species. Many more finds no doubt await in years to come!

   The main purpose of this running around, though, is to raise awareness of migratory bird species on the Shore and to raise money for study of, and education around, migratory birds for KESTREL, whose web site we invite you to surf to read about activities of the past five years. Modelled on Cape May's competition, the Challenge is the only fall season competition of its kind in North America -- and only one of three national-level competitions in North America.

   For more information on the Challenge, poke around the website for yourself! A registration form (to print out and fill out manually) is located below for your convenience.

   Thanks for your interest, and don't hesitate to address questions to Ned Brinkley, esb4n@virginia.edu.

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