Football may be king in Texas, but one of the fastest growing youth sports in the state may actually be . . . competitive birding? For the fledgling ornithologists who compete each April in the Great Texas Birding Classic—the birding equivalent of the state playoffs—Friday Night Lights have given way to Saturday Morning Pre-Dawn. In the Gliders division, teenagers race to find the greatest number of birds in 24 hours, while under-13 Roughwings participants compete in an eight-hour window. Up to 20 youth teams across the state participate, each composed of three to five students and at least one experienced mentor who verifies every sighting—but can’t point out or identify birds themselves. Keep reading at Sierra.