Big Day of Birding

Team Information Packet

April 29th, 2017

Contents

General Info Page

Registration Form

Sponsorship Form

Rules and Guidelines

Green Space Map

Big Day of Birding

General Information

What is the Big Day of Birding?

The Fern Hollow Big Day of Birding is a chance for teams of outdoor enthusiasts to spend a day exploring the parks and green spaces in the Quaker Valley communities while identifying as many bird species as possible. The goal is for all team members to identify each species and hopefully improve their own birding skills while revealing the diversity of birds in our community to the public. The Big Day is also a great opportunity to support the environmental education programs at Fern Hollow Nature Center by sponsoring teams based on the number of species they identify.

How do I participate?

Individuals can participate in three different ways. First, you can form or join a team to go birding on April 29th. One member of each team will need to pick up a Team Packet at Fern Hollow Nature Center to get the official score sheet, rules, entry form and map designating the boundaries for the Big Day. Team Packets will be available starting Friday, April 28th after 10:00am. Teams can count species identified any time between 6:00am and 7:00pm on April 29thwithin the specified area and then will return to Fern Hollow for a bonfire and awards celebration at 7:00pm. All results must be dropped off at Fern Hollow by 7:00pm on April 29th.

This year, Fern Hollow staff will also lead a public bird walk that anyone is welcome to join. The walk will begin at 9:00am at Fern Hollow Nature Center and conclude in time for the Wildflower walk beginning at 10:00am which is free for members of the nature center. The Bird Walk is free and open to the public, but participants are encouraged to sponsor their list of birds identified during the walk. No birding experience is necessary for the public walk.

Additionally, individuals can participate by sponsoring a team either as a pledge per species of bird identified or as a specified amount for the day. Register your team or your pledge by contacting Susie Moffett at or 412-741-7536. If you bird or pledge, either way, you can help Fern Hollow to educate our community about the amazing variety of birds that live around us everyday!

How will Fern Hollow use the money raised?

The funds raised from the Fern Hollow Big Day of Birding will go to support our environmental education programs in many ways such as purchase of educational materials for school and scout programs and speaker fees for bird experts to come and speak to our summer camps. Every year, hundreds of students come to Fern Hollow programs to learn more about our“Feathered Friends” and “Birds and Their Habitats” which explore why birds are so unique and how we can help protect them in the future. We also help to train the next generation of scientists through programs such as “The Great Backyard Bird Count” and “Nature Ranger” summer camp. With your support, we hope to reach even more children and help them “Discover, Learn and Explore” our natural world.

Are there prizes?

Yes! We will award prizes for the team with the greatest number of species for day. Teams can enter in the adult category or youth category (more than 50% of the team members under 18).

Big Day of Birding

Registration Form

Team Name: ______

Youth Team (Y/N)______

Team Leader: ______

Phone: ______

Email: ______

Address: ______

______

Team Member: ______

Email: ______

Team Member: ______

Email: ______

Team Member: ______

Email: ______

Team Member: ______

Email: ______

Team Member: ______

Email: ______

Birder’s Etiquette

Practice proper birding etiquette and avoid disturbing birds and their vital habitat. Please visit the American Birding Association’s “Principles of Birding Ethics” found at aba.org/about/ethics.html for details.

Big Day of Birding

Sponsorship Form

Team Name:Team Member:

Sponsor Name / Email or Phone / Pledge per Species / Total Species / Total Pledge

Sponsors may make a pledge per species identified during the Fern Hollow Big Day of Birding or may pledge a specific amount. All pledges must be collected and turned in to Fern Hollow Nature Center, P.O. Box 8, Sewickley, PA 15143 by May 15th, 2017. Contact Susie Moffett at or 412-741-7536 with questions.

Big Day of Birding

Rules and Guidelines

The Fern Hollow Big Day of Birding is a single-team effort in which the primary objectives are

  1. To identify as many bird species as possible during a single day and
  2. To strive to have all team members identify all species recorded.

Rules

  1. Counting:
  1. Count only full species as indicated by the PA Society for Orinthology Field Checklist of Birds in Pennsylvania.
  2. Birds must be conclusively identified by sight or soundby at least one team member. Use common sense: if you are in doubt of the bird’s identity, don’t count it. Identification may be confirmed after the original observation if that identification is based solely on field notes or photographs made while the bird was living and unrestrained. A bird identified to one of a species group (ex. chickadee, tern, etc) may be counted as a species if no other in that group is counted.
  3. An introduced species may be counted if it is listed on the PSO field checklist.
  4. Birds counted must be alive, wild and unrestrained. Birds attracted to feeders may be counted. Injured birds may be counted if wild and unrestrained. Eggs do not count as birds.
  5. Recorded sounds cannot be used to attract birds.
  1. Time and Location
  2. All counting must be done within the set timeframe of 6:00am to 7:00pm on April 29th, 2017.
  3. All birds must be identified within the boundaries of the Quaker Valley School District Green Space map provided by Village Garden Club.
  1. Teams
  2. Teams must have between 2 and 6 members.
  3. Non-participating companions may accompany a team and may record data or drive a vehicle. A companion may not aid in identification of birds.
  4. All participants must be within direct voice contact distance during all bird identifications.
  5. Teams may travel by any means provided that they are within direct voice contact distance when identifying birds. If a team is separated for some reason (multiple cars, bathroom breaks, etc), no birds can be counted during that time.
  1. Conduct
  2. All participants should strive to maintain proper birding ethics at all times.
  3. All participants must make every reasonable effort to identify personally and to help other team members identify every species counted by the team.
  4. Teams can only count birds personally and unquestionably identified.
  5. All team members must be within direct voice contact distance during all bird identifications.
  6. All participants must obey traffic laws, park rules and basic safety guidelines and be courteous to the public during the count.
  7. Trespassing on private land is not allowed.
  8. Failure to follow the rules can result in a team being eliminated from the event.