Birdathon

Every spring Central New Mexico Audubon Society sponsors the Birdathon as the major fundraiser of the year. The goal of a Birdathon is to see as many bird species as possible in a 24-hour period while raising money for a special cause.

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As we come out of winter, our thoughts turn to…

Birdathon!!

Birdathon is the primary fundraiser for Central NM Audubon, and this year we have an especially important reason to be raising funds. In the past several years, we have used money raised through Birdathon to support education efforts at Whifield Wildlife Conservation Area. A year ago, the Big Hole fire swept through Whifield, destroying more than 1000 trees, and burning 75% of the conservation lands. The Valencia Soil and Water Conservation District has been working with the Friends of Whitfield and other partners on restoration plans, which include developing a plant list of climate-adapted species that can reduce the likelihood of another catastrophic fire while restoring vital habitat for birds. Funds that we raise this year will go to support this important work.

How to get involved:

• Organize a team of people who can all bird on the same day during May (it doesn’t matter what day in May, you pick). Before your team’s day, collect pledges from sponsors: friends, family, coworkers, anyone! Count the number of bird species seen during the 24 hours of your team’s day! There will be a prize for the team that counts the most species and another for the team that raises the most money.
• Form a team of one – you!! – and choose a day in May to be your Big Day. Collect pledges and count the number of bird species seen on your day. There will be a prize for the individual who counts the most species and another for the individual who raises the most money.
• Support a team or individual by pledging an amount per species seen (or a fixed amount) and then follow through with a donation in that amount.

How to report species seen:

• You can report via eBird. EBird has a new trip report feature that will make it easy to tally all the species seen during your 24-hour period. To learn how to use it, click here. Then share your trip report with cnmasreg@gmail.com.
• Or you can use this form, to report the number of birds seen.

Fundraising
To help you in your fundraising, you’ll find a sample email you can use to ask friends and family for donations when you click here, and a pledge sheet to track your supporters and their pledges when you click here.

Thank you for participating in this important work!