ENGAGE WITH US

Join our 46th Annual Rich Stallcup Bird-A-Thon!

Count birds for conservation during the 46th Annual Rich Stallcup Bird-A-Thon, September 15 – October 15. You can join a team, form your own, or count individually to participate in the country’s longest running bird-a-thon.

How to Participate

Count!

As a Bird-A-Thon participant, you’ll have the opportunity to connect with fellow passionate birders, nature enthusiasts, scientists, and conservationists as we celebrate the wonders of fall migration and the return of waterfowl and shorebirds. Register yourself and/or your team today at www.pointblue.org/birdathon and start planning your adventure!

If you don’t have a Bird-A-Thon team but would like to join one, we will be hosting bird walks for beginning birders and counters throughout the month. Keep an eye on this page (www.pointblue.org/events) for further information and to rsvp for upcoming events.

Marcia Grand Challenge!

All teams are welcome to participate in this year’s exciting challenges for a chance to raise even more for conservation!

$100 to each team that correctly identifies 1 reptile, 1 mammal, and 1 invertebrate
$50 to each team that identifies a Red-breasted nuthatch. Earn an additional $50 if the Red-breasted Nuthatch is seen in its classic upside-down position
$150 to each team that sees a “mobbing” – a group of usually smaller birds chasing away a predator
$100 to each team that sees 3 species of frogs

Please submit your list to birdathon@pointblue.org and a donation bonus will be added to your team’s fundraising total.

These challenges were inspired by Rich Stallcup who recorded every living creature he saw during his Bird-A-Thon.

What is Bird-A-Thon?

Point Blue’s bird-a-thon is a yearly event to connect, learn, and grow as a nature-loving community and to raise conservation funds to secure a healthy planet. Those who count individually or as a team choose a 24-hour period between September 15th and October 15th to count as many bird (and other) species as they possibly can, and they get people to sponsor them for their efforts.

The location is up to the team/individual and you can bird-a-thon from anywhere in the world! You can choose to bird and naturalize along a route in one geography (like Point Reyes or San Francisco), trying to hit as many habitats as possible; or you can opt to have a team that is spread throughout a county, state, country, or the world and count together apart within the same 24 hour period; or you could choose to count in one spot, in one location–a big sit of sorts–from your favorite park, urban area, or backyard. However you count, we encourage you to have fun, be curious, and try to learn something new about nature.

Once you’ve decided on a counting approach, a team name (very important), and a route, you then ask everyone you know to sponsor your count either at a flat rate (easiest approach) or a pledge per species. Also, see the Marcia Grand Challenge above for how to raise more funds by identifying non-bird species. You will register your count via www.pointblue.org/birdathon and have your own site that folks can donate to.  Our fundraising goal this year is $100,000, which we exceeded last year! The more teams, counters, and supporters, the more successful we’ll be at raising the most funds for conservation action and learning.

Please visit our FAQs to learn more.

Donate!

You can also simply donate to support this fantastic event! As a Bird-A-Thon supporter of $50 or more, you will receive Point Blue membership benefits including a subscription to our award-winning Quarterly magazine and invitations to science presentations, bird and nature walks led by our expert ecologists and educators, and other events. With your gift of $500 or more, you will become a Friend of Point Blue and receive invitations to additional exclusive events.

Since the inception of Point Blue’s Bird-A-Thon, more than $3 million have been raised for conservation science. Your support will help Point Blue scientists reduce the impacts of climate change, habitat loss, and other environmental threats while promoting nature-based, climate-smart solutions for wildlife and people.

Meet This Year’s Mascot

The 46th Annual Rich Stallcup Bird-A-Thon mascot is the Red-breasted Nuthatch. Some of the reasons our Bird-A-Thon committee members, Heather Cameron, Aaron Haiman, and Melissa Pitkin chose this species are:

>It’s time for the nuthatches to get some attention!
>They make a very distinctive, nasal honk sound that’s easy to detect even as a beginning birder.
>They climb tree trunks and branches vertically and are often upside down.

Learn more about the Red-breasted Nuthatch here.

Further Questions?

Contact Debra Stein at birdathon@pointblue.org.

Got merch?

Find it here. (Features original art by Point Blue Biologist and Artist Michael Mahoney!)