The Albany Pine Bush Preserve holds a friendly bird-watching competition every year during the peak of the fall bird migration. Bird watchers, from novice to expert, are invited.

This year’s Barrens Birding Blitz is scheduled on Sept. 20, two days ahead of the start of fall. From 6 a.m until noon, teams will count the species they see and hear.

At 12:30 p.m., a catered lunch and awards ceremony will be held in the Discovery Center, at 195 New Karner Road.

“Participating teams will be able to compete for three separate prizes — the first-place prize is given to the team with the highest total species count,” said the event committee chairman, Alex Soldo, in a release. “Not only is this an exciting opportunity for birders, but the eyes and ears of each team member helps provide us with a snapshot of the birds moving through the preserve during fall migration.”

The preserve is home to over 200 bird species.

Details about the event may be found at www.AlbanyPineBush.org/events. Participants are required to make a reservation with a $25 registration fee that includes a T-shirt, event guidelines, birding guide (score sheet), lunch, and a chance to compete for team prizes.

The Barrens Birding blitz event, presented by the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission, Audubon Society of the Capital Region, and Southern Adirondack Audubon Society, will keep in guidance with the American Birding Association Code of Ethics.

Upcoming

Other bird events at the preserve include:

— Science Lecture: Avian response to the restoration and management of the Albany Pine Bush Preserve

On Thursday, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m., a free lecture, offered both online and in-person, will cover the effects of the preserve’s habitat management on birds as staff has monitored bird response at both the community and species level. The lecture is suitable for tweens, teens and adults. Registration is required: 518-456-0655 www.AlbanyPineBush.org/events; and

— Live bird banding by Albany Pine Bush Preserve science staff.

On Monday, Sept. 1, from 6 to 11 a.m., and from 7 a.m to noon on three dates — Tuesday, Sept. 23; Saturday, Oct. 11, and Tuesday, Oct. 21 — at the Green Trail behind the Discovery Center, preserve scientists will band birds before releasing them back to the wild.

Bands are provided by the United States Geological Society Bird Banding Lab to licensed banders so scientists can identify individuals, allowing them to study how long birds live, where they breed, and when and where they migrate.

While the birds are in-hand, the banders carefully take measurements that can indicate a bird’s health, age, and breeding condition. This information is used to evaluate the health of bird populations and the habitats they rely on during the breeding and non-breeding seasons and can also guide the management and restoration of the globally-rare pine-barrens habitat.