Taking advantage of the opportunity to become citizen scientists, 15 high school AP Biology students (and one AP Physics student) recently participated in the sixth annual Seatuck Birding Challenge, helping to tally as many bird species on Long Island as possible from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Five Islip teams entered the competition, and by the time it ended, 13 species had been recorded by the top student group, and 155 species of birds were found overall by all teams, including professional birders and families. Dinner and awards were then held at Seatuck’s Suffolk County Environmental Center at the Scully Estate in Islip.