Otys Train, 16, (left) and teammate Jack Trojan, 17, search for different bird species while competing in the world series of birding at High Point State Park in New Jersey on May 9. They competed in the 43rd annual World Series of Birding where they counted as many bird species within New Jersey as they could in 24 hours. Mohamed Sadek for NPR hide caption

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Mohamed Sadek for NPR

It's just after midnight in north New Jersey when a white SUV pulls up next to a deserted park, and three teenage boys leap out into the dark. They sprint across a field, vault a fence and peer through binoculars — up toward giant nests atop a pole — all in the hopes of catching a momentary flash of a sleeping parrot's tail.

By the light of street lamps, they strain to get a look through the nests' dark holes.…