Registration is now open for Audubon Arkansas’s BirdLR Birdathon. Birdathons all over the country engage thousands of birders in raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for bird conservation. BirdLR’s Birdathon is a competitive search for birds plus a fun way to raise money for Audubon Arkansas's bird conservation and environmental education work. Teams of 2-5 will set species and fundraising goals, then collect donations or pledges per species seen. Teams will compete for prizes for the most species seen and money raised.

This year the Birdathon is bigger and better than ever! The boundary has been expanded to all the counties that surround Pulaski: Faulkner, Lonoke, Jefferson, Grant, Saline, and Perry. Further, teams now have a full 24 hours on Saturday May 9, ample time to search for nocturnal birds. All participants are encouraged to convene for a Bird Bash tally rally on Sunday May 17 from 5-7pm at the Little Rock Audubon Center. There will be free food, fellowship, and awards. You even get a BirdLR t-shirt!

Last year’s Birdathon was a success, despite rain and flooding, thanks to 35 birders who formed 7 teams. All together teams tallied 140 species and raised $8,080 for Audubon Arkansas's bird conservation and environmental education programs.

Registration forms are at http://ar.audubon.org/bird-lr. The deadline is March 15. The sooner you register your team the sooner Audubon Arkansas will create your team’s profile page to make fundraising easier, e.g. friends and family anywhere in the world can donate online. 

If you aren’t up for a fast-paced race to find birds but still want your birding to count for the cause, ASCA will be sponsoring its own monthly bird walk that day with a pledge per species seen by participants under Karen Holliday’s leadership.

Don’t feel like going into the field? Consider having a few friends over for some casual backyard birdwatching. Tell them why you love birds and support Audubon Arkansas, and ask them to do that same. Sounds like your speed? Let’s chat.