Thank you for making our first Virtual Birdathon a wonderful adventure! Our collective birding effort was a huge success. Birding checklists, photos and donations are still coming in, but here's an update so far:

• 205 people submitted birding checklists 
• 5,765 species of birds were tallied
• 223 people made donations to support our conservation and education work

In keeping with past traditions, our Birdathon is a fundraiser to support Audubon Vermont’s work. Please consider a donation of whatever you're able to give. Even just $5, $10, or $15 will help us protect the birds and the places they need. We thank you for whatever you’re able to do right now.

Share your Virtual Birdathon Experience with us:

• We are making a highlight video of our Virtual Birdathon! Send your best photos with photo credit to emily.kaplita@audubon.org or #BirdathonVT on social media. 

• And to keep the Birdathon fun going a little longer, we will hold public voting via social media for the Birdathon Superlatives. Categories are: Most Spectacular Bird, Most Colorful Bird, Largest Bird, Rarest Bird, and Birder Farthest from Vermont. Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook to place your vote. 

Here's how we ran our first-ever Virtual Birdathon. We'd love to have you join us next year!

• Choose an Audubon Vermont staff or board member to join their team. Meet your Virtual Birdathon Team leaders here. When you join a team you will be automatically be entered into a Birdathon raffle and receive updates and birding tips from your team leader. 

• Choose your birding day. Pick a 24-hour time period between Saturday, May 16 and Monday, May 25, 2020. Bird for as long as you like. You don’t have to stay up all night or wake up before the sun comes up. Go at your own pace.

• Keep track of the number of different bird species you see and/or hear. The FREE Audubon Bird App or eBird are great ways to keep track of the birds you’ve seen. Or download and print this Birdathon species checklist. (Note: The checklist includes birds found at the Green Mountain Audubon Center in Huntington, Vermont.)

• Submit your Birdathon observations online.

• We will be tallying the total number of bird species seen by each team, so the more people who join us, the better! We’ll also be looking for the most colorful, largest, most spectacular, and rarest birds seen by birders. While you don’t have to be an early bird or night owl to join the Virtual Birdathon, there will be accolades for earliest (and latest) birders. Preview all of the categories here.

• Are you taking pictures or videos of the birds you see? Tag them with #BirdathonVT and #ISawABird for a chance to be featured on our social media and webpage!

• Are you new to birding? We’re so excited to have you join us. The birding resources and articles included below will help make your birding more fun.