What is the Amos Butler Audubon Society Birdathon?
Since 1987 the ABAS Birdathon has been on a mission to promote the enjoyment and stewardship of the birds of Central Indiana. Birdathon is the organization’s premier fundraising event. A notice is sent out in early January requesting grant submissions for conservation and education projects. The grant requests which are determined to be the best candidates for fulfilling our mission are selected for funding. Each year teams of avid birdwatchers conduct a “Big Day” event in the spring to locate as many species as possible in a 24-hour period to raise Birdathon funds. We began with just one team, but now over a dozen participate in this event. Loyal volunteers, who do not participate on a team, also seek Birdathon pledges. If you’d like to be involved contact Birdathon Chair Chandler Roberts at croberts356@marian.edu.
2024 Birdathon – Birding for Bucks to Save Birds
This year marks the 37th Amos Butler Audubon Birdathon and this year we have received an unprecedented amount of grant requests ranging from a variety of research projects to habitat restoration and new forms of outreach. North American birds continue to face big challenges, from climate change to habitat loss, but the ABAS works to build on past successes like the wonderfully successful partnership with the American Bird Conservancy and their work in Central and South America. We also look for new opportunities to both protect birds and help others get excited about birds and the important roles they play in the world. We are thrilled about the grant requests we received this year and all of the great work being done in Central Indiana and beyond. Please help us raise the $38,832 necessary to fund this wide range of 2024 Birdathon projects.
2024 – Make a Difference, Make a Pledge
Birdathon teams will be scouring the state during May, counting birds and asking donors to sponsor their efforts. If you don’t know a team member, you could choose to make a donation directly to the Birdathon. Either way, your dollars will go far to ensure the future of our Indiana birds. Donate online below! As always, thank you for the continued support from our Corporate Sponsors.
2024 Birdathon Donations Supported the Following:
Improving Migratory Bird Habitat in Colombia
The American Bird Conservancy – $15,000
Forestry Technician Funding
We will continue to support ABC and its local partner in Colombia, Vivo Cuenca, to create winter habitat for migratory birds such as Golden-winged, Cerulean, and Canada Warblers. This year’s grant will again support a forestry technician’s salary for a full year. This position is crucial to the success of the project, since he engages farmers to sign agreements committing to planting trees on their property. With guidance on selecting species and appropriate methods of planting and caring for trees, the farmers provide much of the labor themselves. It has been a winning formula!
Research Projects
Rosvall Lab at Indiana University – $405
Female Song — Purposeful or Pointless?
This grant will fund equipment for a research project on the importance of female song in Tree Swallows. Research on female song in birds is severely lacking and this project will help to better understand its function in a single species.
Indiana University – $500
Wabash River Invasive Plant Species Study
This grant will fund tent camping permits for a researcher doing florainventories of 46 sites throughout the Wabash River corridor in southern Indiana. The study will identify plant distribution trends and prevalence of invasive species with the goal of providing practical conservation strategies at these sites.
Purdue University – $1,000
Study of Eastern Towhee Migration in Central Indiana
This grant will fund research to better understand the migration of Eastern Towhees in central Indiana. This is a species in decline and an under researched species. The project will utilize radio transmitters to determine when they leave for their wintering grounds and help understand the effects of sex on migration timing.
Indiana University – $7,270
Northern Saw-Whet Owl Migration in Central Indiana
This grant will fund a research project tracking and monitoring the migration of Northern Saw-Whet Owls at Eagle Creek Park. This project will take
advantage of the MOTUS towers that are to be installed at Eagle Creek Park and Fort Harrison. The research will improve understanding of the biological and ecological needs of Saw-Whet Owls in urban environments and help with targeted habitat management.
Center for Earth and Environmental Sciences at IU Indianapolis – $4,100
Monitoring and Data Collection of Bird Window Strikes
This grant will fund a year’s worth of monitoring and data collection of bird window strikes on the IU Indianapolis campus. The data will be used to evaluate the timing, prevalence and severity of bird-building collisions on campus, as well as provide information that will guide efforts to make IU Indianapolis a more bird-friendly campus.
Education & Outreach Projects
Utopia Wildlife Rehabilitators – $2,000
Where the Wild Things Are Camp
This grant will sponsor a week-long nature-focused summer day camp for 30 students ages 8 to 13.
Conner Prairie Museum – $2,500
Black Birders Week
This grant will sponsor the first Black Birders Week event in central Indiana. This pilot program will have a range of events at Conner Prairie that will uplift and highlight Black nature enthusiasts and birders and help grow a new group of birders.
Carmel Clay Parks – $1,400
Binocular Purchase for Bird Classes and Park Programs
This grant will help purchase binoculars that will be used in birding classes and programs for school groups, summer camps, Scouts, and adaptive programs.
Preserving & Enhancing Local Habitats
Keep Indianapolis Beautiful – $2,000
Grace Tuxedo Heritage Park
This grant will fund planting native perennials in the Grace Tuxedo Heritage Park on the near east side of Indianapolis. This pocket park is undergoing a larger transformation to make the space into a community park with a focus on education, art and native plants.
Marian University Nina Mason Pulliam EcoLab – $1,500
Continued Community Involvement in Environmental Restoration
This year the grant will help fund a focus on wetland habitat and plantings in prairie sections that had controlled burns last year.
Richland Bean Blossom Community School Corporation – $657
Construction of Bird Boxes for School Property
This grant will fund the construction and placement on school property of 20 Bluebird nest boxes, 5 woodpecker nest boxes, 10 wren next boxes and 10 nesting platforms for species like Gray Catbirds and Mourning Doves.
Holliday Park Foundation – $500
Continued Support of Bluebird Trail at Holliday Park
This grant will fund the improvement of the previously funded bluebird trail at Holliday Park. Funds will go towards repair and materials for the placement of new boxes throughout Holliday Park to ensure nesting sites for Eastern Bluebirds.
2024 Birdathon Teams Species Counts
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Birdathon without our teams of intrepid birders. All teams give up regular meals and sleep to count the birds, all while raising donations to ensure the birds we value so highly will be around for the future. Check back here to see each team’s Big Day species count as they finish. If you’re interested in becoming a team, see the Birdathon Team Guidelines
Species Counts by Team
Birdathon 2024
For over a quarter-century, the Amos Butler Audubon Society has been on a mission — a mission to promote the enjoyment and stewardship of the birds of Central Indiana. Birdathon 2023 (ending June 30, 2023) once again raised enough money to fund all the grants. Bud and Carl’s Legacy Team took top honors as the fundraising champs. The high species count was 141 by the Noddy Little Gulls.