Origin Story - Hatching the Idea
50–50 Quest began the way many birding pursuits do: with years of shared birding, an ever-growing life list, and the simple truth that birders love turning time in the field into a fun challenge. Somewhere between New Jersey and Massachusetts, we made it official: find at least 50 species in every state we visit, with the long-term ambition of reaching all 50 states. The rules: Birds can (and definitely will) repeat from state to state—this isn’t about chasing 50 new species each time (that would be… HARD). It’s about setting a goal, ticking birds, and having fun. Which, honestly, is what we were already doing—just now with extra fervor. The idea was already incubating—my sister Debbie had recently finished reading 50 Birds in 50 States by James McVoy (2018). His project is described this way: “Sue and Jim McVoy set out in the late 1990s to find at least fifty species of birds in each of the fifty United States. What started out as a casual idea...