Bird-A-Thon

Explore Events & Trips

All proceeds go directly to Tracy Aviary’s conservation work.

How it Works

BIRDERS: Anyone can participate as a Bird-A-Thon birder. Ask your friends and family to sponsor you with a certain dollar amount per bird species you see on May 8. Then, sign up to attend one of our field trips* or go birding on your own and share your eBird list with us. We’ll tally up the number of birds you saw and contact your sponsors to provide their donation to the Aviary. As a thank you to participants, birders will also be eligible for a number of fun prizes!

SPONSORS: Want to support our work? You can sign up to sponsor one of our field trip teams. Just pledge a single donation amount or dollar amount per bird species seen during the field trip. You can also pledge a donation for different target species that we’re hoping to see. We’ll tally up the birds we saw and contact you afterwards to provide your donation to the Aviary.

*We are limiting field trip size, first come-first served.

Steps for Bird-A-Thon Birders:

1. SIGN UP AS A PARTICIPANT using the link below. Decide whether you’ll be joining a field trip or birding on your own on Sunday, May 5, 2024. Please note that we are limiting the group size for field trips and they are first-come, first-served.

2. FIND SPONSORS. Ask your friends and families to fill out the sponsor pledge sheet by contributing a certain dollar amount for every bird species you see, or by providing a single donation to the program. We have an online sponsor form – just send your sponsors the link. Use our sample language or reach out on your own. Be sure to let them know the estimated number of species you expect to see during the Bird-A-Thon.

Sample language to use for friends and family that want to sponsor you:

I’m participating in the 2024 Tracy Aviary Bird-A-Thon to help Tracy Aviary’s Conservation Science Program raise money to support their important work. On Sunday, May 5th, I’ll go birding and see how many bird species I can spot! I hope you’ll consider pledging a specific dollar amount for every species I see or hear during the Bird-A-Thon, or making a fixed gift. I expect to see approximately X species during the Bird-A-Thon.

To support me and Tracy Aviary, fill in the sponsor pledge form! Tracy Aviary will contact you after the Bird-A-Thon for payment information. All contributions are fully tax-deductible.

3. GO BIRDING ON MAY 5! Join our field trips or go birding on your own on Sunday, May 5, 2024. If you go birding on your own, you’ll need to create an eBird list and share it with our Tracy Aviary Conservation Science profile (cccscp). See below for step by step instructions on how to join eBird, create an eBird list for your birding trip, and share it with our profile. After we tally species from the field trips and receive the eBird lists, we will contact your sponsors so they can provide their donation to Tracy Aviary.

PRIZES!

Anyone participating in the Bird-A-Thon will be eligible to win a number of prizes. We’ll have prizes for the top three birders who raise the most money, and then we’ll randomly select other participants to win other prizes!

How to use eBird if you are birding on your own:

This info sheet will walk you through the steps of joining eBird, making an eBird list for the day, and sharing it with the Aviary’s profile. NOTE: these instructions are from 2021, please share with our Tracy Aviary Conservation profile: (cccscp) not the one listed in the sheet. Please email [email protected] if you have any questions.

Sponsor a Bird-A-Thon Team

We have three teams heading out on three different field trips that you can sponsor:

The Phalarope Phans (estimated species count 120): This team, led by Conservation Ecologist Bryant Olsen, will go out on a full-day trip starting at dawn and ending around 9pm. They will try to find the many birds that use the rich avian habitat surrounding the Great Salt Lake. The itinerary may change depending on where the birds are, but Bryant generally visits Farmington Bay, Antelope Island, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Promontory Peninsula, and the Golden Spike area. A long but fun day – In years past, we’ve seen over 100 species on this route! Sponsor the Phalarope Phans.
The Bullock’s Oriole Bandits (estimated species count 50): This team, led by Director of Conservation, Cooper Farr, will explore the excellent bird habitat found at the Galena – Soónkahni Preserve. Participants will meet at 7am and bird for 3-4 hours along the lake. Sponsor the Bullock’s Oriole Bandits.
The Dipper Division (estimated species count 30): This team, led by Aviary Director Tim Brown, will visit some mid-elevation riparian and foothills habitat in City Creek Canyon and the surrounding areas. The group will meet at the City Creek Canyon trailhead and walk up the trail. It will run approximately 4 hours, from 7am-11am. Sponsor the Dipper Division.

SPONSOR A BIRD-A-THON TEAM

Target Species

This year we’ll be on the lookout for 6 target species that represent different important bird habitats and conservation projects that Tracy Aviary works on and supports. Sponsors will have the option to pledge money for each target species that we document on our field trips.