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Illustration by Matthew Dodder
Join us for Birdathon! Birdathon is a friendly fund-raising competition we hold every spring to fund our education programs in local schools. This fundraiser helps keep our program costs accessible to local schools, and allows us to offer free programs for low-income schools so that everyone can experience the joy of birding.
Looking for an easy way to explain Birdathon to your friends and family? Look no further!
Birdathon 2026 Teams:
Take part by joining one of the teams below (just like signing up for a field trip) and participating in a local birding adventure, or form your own team if you already have plans for a fun outing. You can join multiple teams, which vary in length and birding intensity and may even include bicycling, artwork, or a meal. All Birdathon participants are asked to either donate or raise at least $50 in support of SCVBA education programs.
Ready to lead your own adventure?
Register your team!
Led by Ann Hepenstal
Led by Kaiting & Cory
Led by Lisa Meyers, Los Gatos Birdwatcher
Led by Brendan Champlin
Public 4-hour (6 hours total) led by Michael Hawk
Led by Eve Meier and Peg Albrets
Private 4-hour traditional led by Hannah Cunningham and Serena Myjer of Grassroots Ecology
Led by The Field Trip Committee
Led by Carolyn Knight
Led by Bob Hirt
Led by Matthew Dodder
Led by Connor Christensen
Led by Carolyn Knight
Led by Amanda Newlove
Led by Ryan Ludman
Led by Matthew Dodder
Led by Eve Meier and Edward Rooks
Led by Matthew Dodder
Birdathon FAQs
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Prizes are awarded to our top fundraising individuals. Winners get their choice from our prize list, in order of fundraising accomplishments.
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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.
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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.
Birdathon Campaign Progress
Goal: Beat last year's Birdathon Total: $86,000
Note: Thermometer updated approximately once per weekday
Last Year’s Teams:
Banner photo: View of the Santa Clara Valley from Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve, by Barry Langdon-Lassagne
