I am proud to announce that Rainier Audubon, the South King County chapter
of National Audubon in Washington State, has won National Audubon's very
first Audubon Cup competition!

The information about the event is shown below and is also available on our
web site at http://www.audubon.org/chapter/wa/rainier/batcupresults.htm
Our Audubon Cup species checklist is at
http://www.audubon.org/chapter/wa/rainier/batspeciesresults.htm

For more information, contact Debbie Fisher at debbiefisher at compuserve.com


RAINIER AUDUBON BAGS "BIRDING CAPITAL" TITLE BY A BEAK

New York - Results of the first-ever National Audubon Birdathon Four-City
Challenge are in. Rainier Audubon will be the first recipient of the
Audubon-O'Brien Cup and the Seattle area has been designated the 'Birding
Capital' of the U.S. The cup is named after National Audubon Chairman of
the Board, Donal O'Brien Jr., and his wife, Katie.

"Congratulations to all participants. It was a close finish," said Susan
Murray, Audubon's Birdathon Manager, "Participants not only counted
hundreds of bird species in one day, but also raised tens of thousands of
dollars for local conservation work." The final tally shows that Rainier
Audubon registered a total sighting of 85% (192 birds species sighted out
of a total of 225 possible listed), with Washington D.C.'s New Columbia
Audubon coming close with 84%. Chicago Audubon and Golden Gate Audubon
tallied at 82% and 74% respectively.

This spring, birdwatchers in four US cities - Chicago, Seattle, San
Francisco and Washington, D.C. - took part in a competitive sporting event
with each city vying for the title of America's Birding Capital (based on
the highest percentage of possible species sighted for that particular
region, at the peak of migration).

The four 1998 "Audubon Cup" challenge Audubon chapters are:
RAINIER AUDUBON (South King County, Washington State)
Chicago Audubon (Chicago, Illinois)
Golden Gate Audubon (San Francisco, California)
New Columbia Audubon (Washington DC)

One of the unique things about this Challenge is the difference in
membership sizes between the competing chapters! Rainier Audubon has 800
members, while Chicago Audubon has 4,600 members, Golden Gate Audubon has
4,900 members and New Columbia Audubon has 1,000 members.

"It's truly amazing," said Dr. Susan R. Drennan, Vice President of the
Ornithology Department at National Audubon and a judge of the competition,
"It is a tribute to the enthusiasm of participating birders that almost
every group sighted over 80% of the species on their list." She further
elaborated, "The birders showed that they are very knowledgeable and were
able to maximize time on their respective outings and cover a broad range
of habitats."

Each chapter had to choose a single day for their "Audubon Cup" competition
in which they had 24 hours to find as many birds as possible. Also in
advance, each chapter had to provide a bird checklist and list of areas
they would visit.

Rainier Audubon chose May 16, 1998 as their "Audubon Cup" day and sent 18
birders into the field to pre-identified areas along the Pacific coast,
northern Puget Sound, the Cascade foothills, Central and Eastern Washington
and locally in the Green River Valley and southern Puget Sound. The highest
number of species seen by an individual was 117 species sighted by Jim
Flynn, followed close behind by A.J. Fisher with 116 species and Kirk
Scarbrough with 99 species. The total number of species seen by Rainier
Audubon birders on May 16th was 192 species.

In conclusion, Dr. Drennan also said, "The Challenge results make us, both
birds and humans, winners, and should inspire in us hope. Birds need a
variety of habitats to thrive and they are making a valiant effort to adapt
to our urban sprawl. However, we still need to preserve our existing 'green
islands' and respect what little we have left in order to provide for our
birds' basic needs."

This competitive bird watching event, designed to place emphasis on
migratory birds, raises funds to support Audubon conservation projects and
programs at the local and national levels. The Challenge was held between
April and May to coincide with peak spring migration times. Experienced
birders join first timers for a fun day scanning the skies, and obtain
pledges from sponsors for the number of species identified. Pledge amounts
range from twenty-five cents up to ten dollars or more per bird.

Each Rainier Audubon birder had sponsors supporting their Birdathon and
Audubon Cup efforts. Thanks to the generous donations of our sponsors,
Rainier Audubon was able to raise approximately $10,000 to be used for
environmental projects in the South King County area and for support to the
Washington State (Olympia) office of the National Audubon Society.

The Audubon Cup will be presented at the National Audubon Convention in
Estes Park, Colorado on July 10, 1998. The Cup will be accepted by Rainier
Audubon's Audubon Cup coordinator, Debbie Fisher. Debbie Fisher has posted
her Birdathon report and Birdathon photographs on the Rainier Audubon web
site for those interested in learning more about her experiences.

For more information about Rainier Audubon, the Audubon Cup and Rainier
Audubon's Audubon Cup bird checklist, visit the Rainier Audubon web site at
http://www.audubon.org/chapter/wa/rainier/ or contact Debbie Fisher at
(253) 852-7766 or debbiefisher at compuserve.com

Rainier Audubon's Audubon Cup Participants:
Eastern Washington: Jim Flynn and A. J. Fisher
Cascade Foothills: Todd Tannery, Joan Booth and Debbie Fisher
Port Townsend/Puget Sound: Kirk Scarbrough
Ocean Shores/Washington Coast: Jim Tooley and Sandy Kernast
South Puget Sound: Steve Johnson and Sue Newsome
Soos Creek and South Puget Sound: Linda Bartlett, Diane Feller, Cheryl
White, Paula Gillmore, Bruce Harpham, Laura Stiles and Barbara Petersen
Individual Observers: Hazel Dickinson

Rainier Audubon Audubon Cup Coordinator: Debbie Fisher
Rainier Audubon Birdathon Coordinator: Sandy Kernast