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Birdathoning !! What it’s all about? Raise money to protect habitat in the Treasure Coast and go birding too!! You don’t have to be a hardcore birder to participate. You don’t even have to be a birder. This can be done without even leaving your yard. Here is the idea. A Birdathon works very similar to a walkathon. You collect pledges for every bird species seen instead of miles walked. For example: $1 per species, $.25 per species what ever- or simply garner a flat amount for all the birds sighted. All the bird species eligible must be sighted in a 24-hour period; this year we have designated April 12, as that special day. This is a fun day spent with like-minded new and soon to be old friends. Every dollar raised goes to further the work of Audubon here in Martin County in land conservation and education.
Remember, you don’t have to leave the house!. You don’t even have to bird for the entire 24 hours. The most important thing to do is collect pledges.
How to participate in a Birdathon!
- Get pledges from friends, neighbors, co-workers, strangers. Get our pledge sheet and sponsor pledge form from our web site or contact AoMC 772 288-2637. (1 each attached)
- Count birds. The detailed counting rules are attached.
- Tell us which species you saw. Drop off your species count list to the AoMC offices no later than April 15. AoMC will tally ALL the species sheets and let you know the count. Then ...
- Collect pledged donations and forward the dollars to AoMC, Attn; Treasurer at 621 SE Palm Beach Road, Stuart FL 34994 no later than April 25.
You can always drop off your pledge forms and checks into the mail slot in the door if you prefer other than to mail them.
Doing the Birdathon is a lot of fun and every single dollar raised stays right here in Martin County. We need your help to do it, so grab some friends, grab your binoculars, a bird ID book and get birding!!!
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Species Counting Rules
Team members must remain within earshot of one another (no cell phones or radios) while observing, and all sighted birds must be seen or heard (verified) by a majority of the team members i.e.: 3 of 4, 2 of 3 or 2 of 2 members. All bird sightings must be confined to Martin County. Exotics, including all parrots and the infamous Muscovy Duck, are subject to consideration as long as they are free and unrestrained. Bird collections of any sort or birds belonging to local golf courses, etc. - intentionally brought in to decorate the course/pond - do not count toward official sightings. If you see banded birds (and can read the band) please share the tag data as well as the location data too. Keep your eyes open for the chance sighting of visitors from the Bahamas as well as those migrants who have flown far off course. Remember to take the best birding guides you have - you never know what you will see. The long lense camera can come in very handy on the challenging sightings that need lengthy review. Try out the new set of binoculars or that new scope!.. You bought them to use them didn’t you?? Now is the perfect time.
Birdathon Tips
Doing a Birdathon is easier than you might think. Some birders may be out for 24 hours straight. Some may bring in hundreds of dollars in pledges. But a Birdathon can be as easy as counting birds for an hour at lunchtime and collecting $25 in pledges.
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Where To Start?
1. Doing a Birdathon can be as easy as going to a local inland natural area, coastal preserve, park or just observing what visits your backyard. Decide if you want to bird alone, find a partner or partners, or join an existing team. Decide how much time you want to spend chasing birds on April 12, Decide where you want to bird as you can go coast to coast (Atlantic to Lake "O") or border to border (SL County to Hungry land) or watch your birdfeeder for 3 hours. If you know where to see an Audubon’s Caracara in Martin County- please go there and see if you can find it. Then go to where you know you have seen an Oven Bird for example. Then on and on. What ever you see, write it down.
2. Once you have decided on a Birdathon strategy, line up sponsors. Download or print off our pledge forms. If you are visiting neighbors door to door or hitting up people at work, it might be easiest to use the full-page pledge sheet to get sponsor information and revisit sponsors after the Birdathon to collect pledges. But if you want to simply call sponsors after the Birdathon and let them know how many species AoMC saw; use the half-page form with them and ask them to return it to you with their pledge. It is a good idea to leave a self-addressed, stamped envelope (or pre-addressed label) with the form if you are doing this.
3. Forward your sightings list to AoMC for compilation. We will compare and add up the lists and let you know the grand total and provide the list of all species spotted.
4. Contact your sponsors and let them know how many birds AoMC saw. Visit them personally to collect their pledges, or phone them and ask them to send their pledges to you using the envelope or label and pledge forms you left with them.
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Ten Easy Steps to Birdathon Dollars
- Ask your best friend to sponsor you for $10
- Ask one presumably generous acquaintance for $10.
- Ask a relative for the $10
- Ask an in-law for $10
- Ask your doctor/dentist for $10
- Ask your fraternity/sorority brother/sister for $10
- Ask a local merchant for $10
- Ask a neighbor for $10
- Ask a church or temple member for $10
- Ask yourself for $10.
That was a quick $100 bucks!!!!!!! Want more? Ask a co-worker for $10, Ask a club member for $10, Ask your barber or stylist for $10, Ask your carpool mates, lawyer, real-estate agent, personal trainer, dog groomer, ...
Asking With Ease
Some people are not comfortable with the "verbal ask" even though it is usually more effective. If that is you, send one of the small sponsor forms to a potential sponsor - or simply hand it to your potential sponsor with a smile. If you are comfortable asking your potential sponsors, don’t forget to tell them about the great work that Audubon of Martin County does to protect our environment. We are celebrating our 40th year of conservation and environmental protection - remember to discuss the Loop Road preserve, Bird Island replanting project, Scrub Jay banding project, Sandhill Crane sign project and the Possum Long Nature Center recovery project. Try this method of asking: Set up a donation box w/ forms at work!! Everybody puts up sales for candy or wrapping paper for the schools don’t they - why not for the birds????? You could add a tray of homemade goodies to "sweeten the ask".
Pledge Forms
Available at AoMC offices, printout form here, or phone to receive in your mail.
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