Birdathon Guidelines
The goals of the Birdathon are to have bird-related fun and to raise funds for NVBA. The Birdathon can also serve as an opportunity for education and/or for documenting bird diversity in our area. To welcome all who want to help with these goals, the guidelines allow teams of different sizes, teams that bird in one or more places, and teams that conduct their Birdathon for more than one day.
NVBA members and non-members are eligible to compete. The only requirement for participation is that each team give or get at least one donation, but teams are encouraged to seek as many sponsors as possible, especially given the fundraising goal of the Birdathon. In the past, some teams requested support from friends and family for the entire activity, while others requested that their sponsors pledge to donate an amount, such as $5, for each species observed.
Several prizes will be awarded to celebrate Birdathon teams. To be considered for the traditional prize of “most species observed” the Birdathon should be conducted within NVBA’s territory, defined as the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, Fauquier and Rappahannock and the cities encompassed within, including Alexandria, Fairfax City, Manassas, and Manassas Park.
Participants can bird in teams of any size.
The timing of the team’s Birdathon activity is flexible. Traditionally the event had to be completed in a contiguous 24-hour period; however, NVBA welcomes teams to conduct their event anytime between April 18 and May 31, 2026. For example, some teams may bird on consecutive Saturdays, or on three mornings in one week.
At least two members of a team must identify the bird in order for it to be placed on the team's list (except if your team is only one person).
Teams should use responsible birding ethics, e.g., they must not use recordings to call birds or induce them to respond, such as by “pishing.” (Teams may, however, use a smart phone app or similar device, played at low volume, to help them identify a bird call that they heard.)
Following the Birdathon outing, team members should contact their sponsors and tell them how many species the team recorded and the amount of the sponsor’s pledged contribution. The team member may collect checks made out to Northern Virginia Bird Alliance from the sponsor, the sponsor may pay directly to NVBA by check, or may donate online on the appropriate Team Page. Any checks collected should be sent to the NVBA office at 11100 Wildlife Drive, Suite 100, Reston, VA 20190.
Teams are encouraged to use eBird to record their observations. Within two weeks after completing its Birdathon outing, a team should email its list of observed birds to NVBA at info@nvbirdalliance.org (send us your list by June 5).
Prizes given for raising the most funds will be based on money received by the NVBA office as of June 5.