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Big January – Bird Event – All Month 1/1 – 1/31/2024
Monday, January 1 - Wednesday, January 31
The Hartford Audubon Society (HAS) is pleased to announce our seventh annual Hartford County Big January of Birding birdwatching challenge. The goal of the activity is to encourage folks to get outside during the month of January and see as many species of wild birds in Hartford County as possible. The competition is free to people of all ages. You do not need to be a HAS member or reside in Hartford County to enter.
To participate, birders should enter their daily or periodic observations into ebird.org, the free birdwatching site maintained by the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology. At the end of the month, Hartford Audubon will retrieve all the data and award prizes. If you don’t use eBird, you can list your species, date seen, location, and brief description, and send it via email or mail right at the end of January; it must be received by Monday, February 5th. There are four categories:
- Youth (ages 4-10) who must see at least 25 species to enter
- Teen (ages 11-17) who must see at least 35 species to enter
- Weekend Warrior (adults ages 18 and up who can’t get outdoors during the week) who must see at least 50 species to enter
- Adults (ages 18 and up who can get outdoors during the week) who must see at least 60 species to enter.
All entries that meet the minimum number of species for each challenge group will receive a certificate of achievement. A special prize will be awarded for the highest species count for each challenge group, and the coveted “Golden Grebe” award will be given to the birder finding the most unusual bird.
January 2024 may be an interesting month and joyful way to enter the new year.
Give yourself something to look forward to in January! Everyone is encouraged to join with other HAS members for a friendly competition to find the most bird species in Hartford County this month.
Sarah Faulkner sffaulkner@comcast.net 860-543-1280 T