The Raven LunaChicks participated in their 5th World Series of Birding (WSB) in New Jersey on Saturday, May 9, 2026. After four years of full-state runs, including a 2nd place win in 2025, the team decided to switch gears this and compete in the LGA (Limited Geographic Area) category, birding solely in Gloucester county, NJ, this year.
The Raven LunaChicks are an all-women team – Linda Widdop (captain), Debbie Beer, Patty Rehn, and Lori Gladulich – dedicated to birding hard and having a blast while supporting avian conservation. We love big days of birding and focused on Gloucester with keen determination. Two weeks of scouting before the big day were crucial to our success; we’re deeply grateful to former DVOC president Barb Bassett who shared a wealth of information about her home county, as well as local birders Marilyn Smith, Jayne Rhynard, Ron Kegel, and Scott Reynolds.
Encompassing about 330 square miles, Gloucester county is roughly a rectangle that runs from the Delaware River opposite Philadelphia and Delaware county PA on its west side extending into the center of New Jersey where it abuts Atlantic county. While farm fields are rapidly being replaced by warehouses and housing developments, a number of parks, preserves, creeks and ponds host a variety of bird species – we would criss-cross the county to find as many as possible in 24 hours!
We began the 2026 WSB at 2:30 am, listening for nocturnal birds. Fortunately, they all cooperated – Eastern Whip-poor-will and Great Horned Owl at Piney Hollow Preserve, and Barred Owl and Eastern Screech-Owl at Glassboro Woods Wildlife Management Area (WMA). At Riverwinds, we found early morning migrants, Cooper’s and Red-shouldered Hawks, then returned to Glassboro WMA for breeders like Worm-eating, Pine, and Prothonotary Warblers, Louisiana Waterthrush, Scarlet Tanager, White-eyed Vireo, Wood Thrush, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Wild Turkey, and more. We were delighted to hear Blue Grosbeak in a successional field there, saving us other stops for that species. With permission, we stood in a residential backyard for 11 minutes before a Ruby-throated Hummingbird showed up – our only one of the day. Summer Tanager, a colony of nesting Bank Swallows, Yellow-throated Vireo, and Yellow-throated Warbler all showed at staked-out spots, though the latter was almost missed when it finally sang as we were driving away! At 10:00 am we looped into Downstown Airport at the far southeast corner of the county. There we ticked Grasshopper Sparrow, Horned Lark, Red-tailed Hawk, and Black Vultures. Heading back towards the center of the county, we slow-rolled past Malaga Lake to tick the Mute Swans that are always there, then got Savannah Sparrow at South Jersey Technology fields. Our late-morning stop at a friend’s house produced an unexpected bonanza. We knew her nesting phoebes would be guaranteed, but we didn’t count on the Green Heron, Belted Kingfisher, Cedar Waxwings, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, or Blackpoll Warbler that were all in her yard. These species are generally random and hard to stake out but luck was on our side! With spirits high we raced to the Delaware River for new species and tidal-dependent birds. At Flood Gate we ticked Purple Martins in a side-yard ‘condo,’ Solitary Sandpiper in a ‘muddy meadow’ property, and Orchard Orioles chattering. At the end of the road we parked and walked a little ways to hear a Yellow-breasted Chat singing over the wind. We headed to Mantua Creek WMA and walked a narrow trail strewn with poison ivy to scan marshland in a falling tide, ticking Spotted and Least Sandpipers, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs. There was not enough water for black ducks – our main target there – so we left and drove back to the Delaware River for low tide. At Big Timber Creek, the northwest corner of the county, we scoped Peregrine Falcon on the distant Walt Whitman Bridge and picked up Forster’s Tern, Double-crested Cormorant and Herring Gull. From there we beelined back to Flood Gates in time to scope a Dunlin and Semipalmated Sandpiper on now-shrinking mudflats, along with Caspian Tern, American Black Duck and Red-breasted Merganser. We picked up Green-winged Teal and Great Egrets on nearby Raccoon Creek, then headed to Birch Creek where there was no Pied-billed Grebe. We scanned Pedricktown Marsh at mid-tide rising for a Sandhill Crane, but no luck. We returned to both of these spots twice, and managed to get the grebe, Marsh Wren and Swamp Sparrow, but no Sandhill Crane. Racing the clock, we arrived at Elephant Swamp at 5pm and walked .75 miles one-way down the trail to hear a distant Kentucky Warbler. With few gettable targets left, we were thrilled when a pair of Wood Ducks flew into a swampy pond after 6pm – one of several such ponds that we had checked all day for that species. It turned out to be our last new bird of the day. Some of our misses were surprising – no nuthatches, Pileated Woodpecker, Hooded Warbler or Acadian Flycatcher. No other thrushes besides Wood Thrush and robin.
The Raven LunaChicks ended the WSB in Gloucester county with 121 species (2026 WSB L1 Raven LunaChicks – eBird Trip Report), exceeding our expectations and topping the 2025 Gloucester county WSB team total of 117 (we were the only team in the county this year). For fairness, county teams compete for a par percentage in the WSB; Gloucester par is 154 species, so we got 78.57%. Not enough to win a prize, but we had a great time exploring and running an exciting big day!
Now in its 43rd year, the New Jersey Audubon WSB is the longest-running bird competition and fundraiser in the U.S., engaging hundreds of youth and adults of all experience levels in one big day of birding for conservation.
The WSB fundraising efforts of team Raven LunaChicks support the DVOC, and all donations are greatly appreciated. To donate, click on this link: https://dvoc.org/about/donating-to-the-dvoc/ and scroll down to choose ‘Donate to Bird Safe Philly’ or ‘Donate to Interns Fund.’ Indicate “WSB Raven LunaChicks” in the comments. Thanks for supporting the birds!