NEW JERSEY — Three New Jersey high school birders known as The Pete Dunnelins are competing in this year's World Series of Birding high school division, aiming to count 200 bird species. The team, which has placed first in the competition for the past two years, has been friends since 2021.

The World Series of Birding was founded in 1984 by Pete Dunne and is organized by the nonprofit New Jersey Audubon. The event functions both as a birding competition and as a fundraiser for conservation. Eighty-seven teams are participating this year, sorted into divisions by age. Competition rules require unanimous team agreement before listing a bird species.

Last year the team counted 199 bird species and tied for first place with the Flying Penguins from southeast Pennsylvania. For this year's competition, the team prepared for months and created a schedule spreadsheet planned down to the minute. The Pete Dunnelins wear matching gray sweatshirts emblazoned with their team name and are accompanied by their fathers, Mark Trojan, Chris Pacetti and Jeff Train, who drive the team and ensure they stay hydrated and fed.

Shortly after midnight in north New Jersey, the team observed a monk parakeet in a deserted park. "I got the monk parakeet!" Otys Train said. At 3 a.m., the team listened for marsh birds including a sora, a swamp sparrow and an American woodcock on a marshland trail.

The tight schedule shaped the team's movements through the night. "Every minute we're driving, we've accounted for," Jack Trojan said. He also acknowledged the unpredictability of the pursuit. "Birds are animals, and you can't really predict too well when you're going to see or hear everything." he said.

When the sun rose a little before 6 a.m. at High Point State Park, the team was behind schedule and needed to get back on track. During sunrise, they counted warblers while driving with windows down and sticking their heads out of the car. "There's a lot of yellow warblers, there's a lot of thrushes." Zade Pacetti said. The team also observed a sharp-shinned hawk's nest in a tree while driving in the park.

Train described how time spent outdoors shaped his ear for identification. "When you go into the field and hear the actual birds and see them, it kind of imprints the song in your head." he said.