Winter is a wonderful time to bird in northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire. In celebration of this season, Mass Audubon's Joppa Flats Education Center is hosting the Superbowl of Birding XIV on January 28, 2017 from 5 am to 5 pm (Snow date: Sunday, January 29).

Superbowls I-XIII were great successes with teams of all abilities participating. The challenge is renewed this year, with prizes awarded in ten categories!

This is a unique competition to find the greatest number of species and to earn the greatest number of points based on the rarity of the birds recorded. The Zeiss Joppa Cup is awarded to the team that collects the most points by the end of the specified 12-hour birding day. Strategy and planning are essential in order to win this competition.

The event consists of activities targeted for all levels of birders. Expert birders can compete for a number of awards, including the Zeiss Joppa Cup, Essex County Award, or Rockingham County Award. Teams with young birders 18 years old or younger can vie for the Seekers Award. The Fledgling Award encourages young families to participate.

Prizes will be awarded in the following categories

· The Zeiss Joppa Cup: Grand prize for the team with the greatest number of points
· Director's Award: Greatest number of species
· Essex County Award: Most points in Essex County
· Rockingham County Award: Most points in Rockingham County
· Parker River NWR Award: Most points on the refuge
· Sitting Duck Award: Award for the greatest number of species tallied from a fixed point
· Seekers Award: Award for the first team to complete the special Seekers checklist
· Fledgling Award: Award for the first team to complete the special Fledgling checklist
· Newbies Award: Award for the greatest number of points tallied by any team with 2 or more members 18 years of age or younger
· Lifer Award: Participant who sees the most new life birds during the competition

Further information is available online at http://www.massaudubon.org/superbowl.