Hartford Audubon: Big January

The Hartford Audubon Society (HAS) is pleased to announce our eighth 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 certificates and prizes. 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.  Please see the HAS website at https://www.hartfordaudubon.org/ for contest details.

Please feel free to share this email with all your bird-loving friends.  We’d like nothing more than to hand out dozens of certificates!