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Join us for Birdathon! Birdathon is a friendly fund-raising competition we hold every spring to fun our education programs in local schools. This fundraiser helps keep our program costs accessible to local schools, and allows us to offer free programming for low-income schools so that everyone can experience the joy of birding.

Take part by joining a team (just like you would sign up for a field trip!) and taking part in a local birding adventure, or form your own team if you have your own plans for a fun trip! You can join multiple teams, which vary in length, birding intensity, and might even include bicycling, artwork, or a meal. All Birdathon participants are asked to donate or fundraise at least $50 in support of SCVBA education programs.

Birdathon Trifold

Looking for an easy way to explain Birdathon to your friends and family? Look no further!

Birdathon 2026 Teams:

Join a team or donate to support your favorite! All Birdathon participants are asked to donate or fundraise at least $50 in support of SCVBA education programs.

Ready to lead your own adventure?
Register your team!

Make your team

Featured

American Avocet Flock Luca de Alfaro.jpg

Mar 25

Birdathon Kickoff Social

Apr 11

10 hour, public, birding apart

Birdathon: Birdcassos

10 hour, public, birding apart

Led by Matthew Dodder

10 hour, public, birding apart

Black-crowned Night Heron Sreedhara Alavattam.jpg

Apr 17

4 hour, public, birding together

Birdathon: Wrong Terns

4 hour, public, birding together

Led by Carolyn Knight

4 hour, public, birding together

Apr 18

10 hour, private, birding apart

Birdathon: Rock Wrens

10 hour, private, birding apart

Led by Bob Hirt

10 hour, private, birding apart

Apr 19

4 hour, public, birding together

Birdathon: Concrete Juncos

4 hour, public, birding together

Led by Carolyn Knight

4 hour, public, birding together

Apr 25

4 hour, public, birding together

Birdathon: Hot Spotters

4 hour, public, birding together

Led by Matthew Dodder

4 hour, public, birding together

Grasshopper Sparrow 1 Luis Villablanca.jpg

May 2

10 hour, private, birding together

Birdathon: DeDUCKtions

10 hour, private, birding together

Led by Matthew Dodder

10 hour, private, birding together

Birdathon FAQs

Prizes are awarded to our top fundraising individuals. Winners get their choice from our prize list, in order of fundraising accomplishments.
There are three main types of Birdathon team: Photography, Traditional (the team birds together as a single group), and Distributed (the team birds on their own during their competition window and compiles a list of species afterwards). Teams are further divided into 4-hour, 10-hour, or 24-hour durations. Teams do not have to completely fulfill these durations (most don’t), but this allows 4-hour teams to have a friendly competition without pitting them against teams who will be spending sunup to sundown birding.
Birdathon is a fundraiser for SCVBA’s education programs. The money allows us to offer affordable programming for schools (including free programming for Title 1 schools), pay for bussing fees, and develop education materials in multiple languages. Birdathon participants are asked to contribute at least $50 towards this effort, but we also encourage you to ask for donations from friends, family, or matching donations from work! A moment of awkwardness can result in a school getting to take part in a field trip that would otherwise be out of reach.