Teams of New Jersey birders, armed with binoculars, cameras, and special bird-identifying apps, spread out across Mercer County in a race against the clock to identify as many bird species as possible during the “Wings Over Mercer” competition that started at dawn on Saturday, October 4.
The team with the most birds counted by 5 p.m. was named the winner.
In the overall competition the winners were the Youngish Birders with an overall count of 92. The TCNJays (54) beat out Stockton in the student team category, and the The Brew Jays (46) took the new birder category. (See full results below).
Sean Graesser, Executive Director of Wild Bird Research Group [WBRG], the non-profit group that organized this community outreach and fundraising event said, “It’s the first time we’ve attempted this style of fundraiser where it’s a bird-a-thon and [we’re] getting people to learn about the birds of Mercer County and about [WBRG].”
WBRG conducts and supports science-based research and conservation initiatives that benefit birds and their habitats across the Americas.“Wings Over Mercer” was designed, in part, to raise awareness of these conservation efforts.
Ian Gray, a volunteer for WBRG, said, “Most of [WBRG’s] work is in the bird banding realm, [but] not all of it.”
Gray continued, “We’re also looking at the trends of how vegetation changes affect the breeding bird community, how they change together, and when those changes happen.”
The 2025 State of the Birds report, an annual assessment of the health of America’s bird populations compiled by scientists from U.S. bird conservation groups, reported that America’s bird populations are declining significantly, with 229 species now in urgent need of conservation.
Graesser of WBRG says, in the face of this decline, Mercer County has been doing what it can to preserve and promote habitat and reverse this loss.
“The good thing about Mercer County is we have a lot of organizations that have done a lot to try to increase area for birds,” Graesser said, adding: “I would say while the overall trend outside of Mercer County is that bird species are going down, we have a lot of people trying to increase bird species in Mercer County.”
He continued, “So, like diversity wise, habitat wise, a lot of people have done a lot of good things to try to restore habitat and create more bird diversity. Mercer County Park Commission, the stewardship chapter, have done so much to uplift this. We have so many new birds breeding here.”
But the actual population size is harder to put in context.
WBRG volunteer Jack Hagan says he has observed year-to-year fluctuation in both bird species diversity and population size in Mercer County.
“Where I bird in the open areas of Mercer County, there can be years when a certain species is not very present, but then another year comes along and there’s more of them,” Hagan says, adding,“The thing is, there’s no doubt that bird populations are going down, but there’s so few areas like [Mercer Meadows] where they can concentrate, that when you’re in an area like this, you can be fooled into thinking, ‘oh, these birds are fine. I’m seeing lots of these birds.’”
The ‘Wings Over Mercer’ bird-a-thon drew 58 community members to participate and engage with this conservation-awareness activity.
Rob Cook, a regular birder from Hamilton and one half of the birding team ‘Just Wing It,’ said the competition was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
“I’ve been birding in the area a while, and it’s like, how could I not do it if it’s in my home county,” Cook said, adding, “It just seemed new and interesting. I think going out all day is a good chance to do something I haven’t done here, and maybe find something cool.”
On October 5, the WBRG announced on Instagram that it surpassed its fundraising goal for “Wings Over Mercer”. The competition element, according to Gray, may have just been the key to raise conservation awareness.
“Our main purpose was to engage the community in the birding space in a way that’s maybe a little more welcoming than it is sometimes when you have an event for birding,” Gray said.
Wings Over Mercer Results – 2025
Winners by Category
Overall
1) Youngish Birders (92)
2) Salty Sparrows (90)
3) Average but Savage (81)
Student Team
1) TCNJays (54)*
2) Stockton (54)
3) Hun School (34)
Organizational
1) Fohvos – (35)
New Birders
1) Brew Jays (46)
2) Rails Against the Machine (40)
NOCS Solo Spotters
1) Barb Bassett (42)
2) Cooper Pollack (39)
*According to the WOM rules, in the case of a tie, the team with the earliest final timestamp is the winner.
Results provided by Sean Graesser, event organizer.
