‘Morgantown Birding Cup’ fundraiser coming in May

CHEAT LAKE, W.Va. (WBOY) — The Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia is inviting the community to join its fifth annual bird-watching event in May, the “ Morgantown Birding Cup .”

The Morgantown Birding Cup will have participants looking across different counties or just in their own backyard to see who can identify the most bird species over 24 hours.

The event covers two categories of bird watching:

• “At-home” — Participants in this category should only travel within walking distance of their home.
• “At-large” — Participants can birdwatch anywhere in Monongalia, Marion, Harrison, Taylor and Preston counties.

The birds above are just a few of the species that can be found across West Virginia.

Bird watchers are welcome to form groups or teams with a few rules:

• Group members must stay together
• At least half the members of a group must see the bird for it to count
• Groups can have between one and six members (exceptions can be made for participants under 18)

If you’re new to birdwatching, some useful things to bring are binoculars and a physical bird field guide in case you don’t have cell service or a charged phone; you can also consider downloading any of the great birdwatching apps to your smartphone. And of course, remember to bring plenty of water. You can read WBOY’s quickstart guide to birdwatching to learn more about what you should expect while birding.

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The Morgantown Birding Cup begins at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 17 and ends at 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 18. An in-person “Count Party” will be held at the end at the Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia’s (ACCA) outdoor classroom in Cheat Lake .

According to the ACCA’s website, any money raised from the cup will benefit the West Virginia Young Birders Club , which promotes healthy living and respect for birds and other wildlife to young West Virginians.

You can visit the ACCA website for more details on the Morgantown Birding Cup and to find out how you can register for the event.

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