May is Bird-a-thon Month!

- Bird-a-thon instruction sheet (Word, 26 kb)  or in PDF (15 kb)

- Bird-a-thon pledge sheet (Word, 37 kb)  or in PDF (17 kb)
 

Bird-a-thons are great for raising awareness of birds, promoting bird conservation, and raising money at the same time! Anyone can participate—as a sponsor, a birder or both!

Here’s how it works: You decide where and when during May you want to go birding. Then you find some sponsors to pledge some cents per species. Now go find those birds! Afterwards, report back to your sponsors on how many species you saw, and collect the pledges.
 

Your birding day does not need to be an intense all-out effort. You would be surprised how many species will show up around your yard and neighborhood over the course of a day. Black Hills Audubon offers several Birdathon field trips to exciting destinations in Washington. Or you just go out on your own to a few local parks.

One key to successful birdathon fund raising is giving your sponsors a guess on how many species you may find. If you only expect 25 species, a pledge of fifty cents a bird is only a $12.50 pledge.
 

You don’t have to be an expert birder to participate! On Guided Birdathon Field Trips, trip leaders will help you find the birds and rack up the number of species! Contact your friends, family, co-workers, and anyone else to pledge towards the number of birds you hope to see during a 24-hour time period. Sponsors can donate a lump sum in your name, but what is the fun in that? Talk up the drama of the search!
 

After your Birdathon day, write a short report on the great species you found, figure out the amount each sponsor pledged, and ask your sponsors for their pledges. 100 percent of the money raised through the Birdathon will be used to support the Black Hills Audubon Society and its education and conservation programs.
 

Guided Bird-a-thon trips:

If you’d like to participate in any of the following guided Bird-a-thon activities, please contact the Birdathon Coordinator, Sheila McCartan, at blackhillsbirdathon@comcast.net  or (360) 357-9170.

	May 8th, Saturday. 3 hours BIRDATHON Walk: Olympia’s Waterfront Leader: Sheila McCartan Estimated species: 30
	May 15th, Saturday, Starts at falling tide at Kennedy Creek BIRDATHON  Field Trip: Kennedy Creek to Capitol Peak Field Trip Leader: Whittier Johnson Estimated number of species: 40
	May 16th, Sunday, before sunrise until after sunset BIRDATHON Field Trip: Thurston County - Big Day in support of BHAS Birdathon Leader: Matt Pike
	May 19th, Wednesday, 8:15 am to mid-afternoon Birdathon Field Trip:  Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge Field Trip Leader: Phil Kelley Estimated number of species: 50
	May 22nd, Saturday, For most of the day, starting at 6:30 am, but participants can come for the whole day or just part of it. BIRDATHON Field Trip: East Grays Harbor County Field Trip Leader:  Kristin Stewart Estimated number of species: 40