Birdathon is Audubon's largest annual fundraising event and the
world's biggest birdwatching competition.
Anyone can do a Birdathon.
And if you can't tell a goose from a grouse, we can either teach you how or
simply sign you up as a sponsor. Each year, Birdathon participants nationwide
help to fund our mission of environmental conservation, education, and advocacy.
It's the most fun you'll ever have saving Planet Earth!
We encourage you to sponsor one of our Birdathon teams by making a pledge, either a specific amount or an amount for each bird species they can observe in a 24-hour period. Pledges can be made per-species or as a flat amount of your choosing. In 2006 the total number of species seen by all teams was 201. The individual team with the highest species count was Team IBA (Important Bird Areas) with 168 species. Thus a 10¢ per species pledge supporting Team IBA would have become $16.80.
If you are interested in creating your own Birdathon team for the 2008 Birdathon, please contact
Donna McCarty at
(317) 299-5675 for details on what you need to know to organize your team.
Birdathon Team Tallies for 2007
Nine teams competed in the 2007 Birdathon. The high count award went to Team IBA (Important Bird Areas) with 172 species. This was an all-time record for an AWBAS Birdathon team. The DNR team came in second with 163 but remains our leading fund raising team. The Marian College EcoLab team's big day event was filmed by a WFYI photographer for use in their Indiana Heritage series. Indy Parks had great success calling in owls and set a new personal best. Team Bishop broke in new binoculars on their outing this year. Team Nawrocki, our family team, is aiming to break 100 species next year. The Accidental Shrikes had a great count for their second attempt. Our two new teams this year were Backyard Birds Plus and the Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers.
Following are the team species counts:
172
Team IBA (Dave Benson, Dave Clarke, James & Angie Cole). Friday, May 18
163
DNR Team (Lee Casebere, Cloyce Hedge, Roger Hedge). Friday, May 18
147
Accidental Shrikes (Stephanie Elsner, Alex Greene, Eric Ripma, Rob Ripma). Friday, May 19
140
Indy Parks Team (Kevin Carlsen, Karen La Mere, Fritz Nerding, Betsy Wilson). Monday, May 14
126
EcoLab Team (Dave Benson, Gordon Chastain, James Cole, Leigha Ridenhour, Jessica Bassett). Monday, May 14
126
Team Bishop (Mike and Linda Bishop). Monday, May 7
104
Backyard Bird Plus (Lynne Arrowsmith, Brent Benton, Karen Crawford, Michelle Gray, Doug Gray, Edith Millikan, Karen Wade, Mike Wade). Sunday, May 6
94
Team Nawrocki (Jenna, Heather, Stephen, and Susan Nawrocki). Friday, May 11
61
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers (Dustin McKinney, Roberta Kuonen). Sunday, May 20
Congratulations to all of the teams!
The 2007 Birdathon proceeds of $26,189 have funded:
Grants for migratory bird research projects benefitting the birds of central Indiana
Wetland habitat restoration projects in the Marian College EcoLab
The Indiana Important Bird Areas program
Make a Birdathon 2008 pledge!
Click on the PayPal option at the top of the page
Print and send the Pledge Form
to Donna McCarty, Birdathon Chair. Please make checks payable to Amos W. Butler Audubon Society, Inc. Your gift is tax deductible as allowed by law.
Thank you for your support!
Donna McCarty, Birdathon Chair Amos W. Butler Audubon Society Donna McCarty
4832 Guion Road Indianapolis, IN 46254
317-299-5675
National Audubon Society and AWBAS Chapter supporters and members: Did you know that you can help us save money, time and trees by becoming a part of our electronic database? By choosing to recieve updates and news via E-mail, you will not only help us to significantly reduce our postage costs but you enable AWBAS to focus more of our resources towards mission-critical tasks and services. -- click here to send your email address to our Membership Chair in order to receive your newsletters and other important updates via E-mail.
Upcoming Events
AWBAS upcoming eventsNovember 13, Tuesday Lecture: The Birds of South Africa
Speaker: Steve Nawrocki, Professor of Biology and Anthropology at the University of Indianapolis
As so many birds have left Indiana for the winter, many birders think about going to other locales to bird. Join Steve Nawrocki at Holliday Park to learn about his nature experiences in a place few of us will get a chance to visit, South Africa. During two recent trips to South Africa he saw about 200 bird species along with many mammals and reptiles, many of which he photographed. His slideshow will focus on the birds of 3 broad ecological zones (thornvelt, high-altitude grassvelt, and marshland) in the northeastern part of the country, including Kruger National Park and the famous Marievale Bird Sanctuary. Break away from Indiana for the night and join us on bird safari.
December 11, Tuesday Lecture: Song-Catcher — Memorable Experiences of a Professional Birdsong Recorder
Speaker: Geoff Keller, Master Song Recorder
It's always a good time to review bird songs and calls while sitting by the fire. Some of the recordings you listen to may have been recorded by our speaker, Geoff Keller, who has recently moved to Nashville, Indiana. Geoff started recording bird songs in 1983 and has worked closely with Cornell University's Laboratory of Ornithology. He has archived almost 3,000 North American bird song recordings with Cornell and has traveled to all the great birding sites from the Florida Keys to Nome, from southern Mexico to Churchill. He is currently working on Bird Songs of the Pacific Northwest. His program will feature some his most memorable recording experiences, such as the Five-striped Sparrow in Sycamore Canyon, Arizona, Mangrove Cuckoo in Sugarloaf Key, Florida, Red-throated Pipit in Nome, Alaska, and Buff-colored Nightjar in the Santa Rita grasslands of Arizona, among others. If you think about how much we depend on the skill of people like Geoff, you will not want to miss his talk on a special Thursday date of December 13.
January 8, Tuesday Lecture: Fall Migrations and Winter Habitats of the Reclusive Northern Saw-whet Owl
Speaker: Ross Brittain, Ph.D. Candidate in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, Bloomington
In 2002, Ross created and continues to coordinate the first study of Northern Saw-whet Owl migration patterns in southern Indiana. He has also surveyed overwintering populations of Saw-whet Owls to assess their habitat use. He is a Master Bird Bander and Wetland Community Ecologist. Ross is currently working on a Ph.D. in Environmental Affairs, studying avian trophic ecology using stable isotopes, and the potential long-term effects of sea level rise and standard management practices on coastal Georgia avifauna. His project is funded by a Graduate Research Fellowship from NOAA and is conducted at the National Estuarine Research Reserve on Sapelo Island, Georgia. The Northern Saw-whet Owls are thinking about starting a family right about now - you should find out what they are up to! Get the New Year started right by joining us at Holliday Park.
February 12, Tuesday Lecture: The Importance of Indiana's Reclaimed Strip Mines for Grassland Birds
Speaker: Peter Scott, Associate Professor of Ecology and Organismal Biology, Indiana State University, Terre Haute
March 11, Tuesday Lecture: Use of Isolated Wood Lots by Migratory Birds
Speaker: Diane Packett
Diane has been studying how our migrant birds use isolated wood lots. She will update us on her research, which has been supported by funds from the AWBAS Birdathon.
