The Bird-a-thon is back! Each spring, teams of birders compete to see the most species in a single day, raising money for RAS via pledges and raising awareness of birds and birding. In 2025, we introduced a points system that gives participants another way to win.

For 2026, the money we raise will go towards a controlled burn at the Varina LandLab.

How it works:

1. Join a team or start a new one.
2. Tell your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. about it. Ask if they'd be willing to make a flat donation or pledge a dollar amount per species your team observes on the big day. Donations can be submitted via PayPal or by check. Remember any and all contributions are appreciated!
3. Choose a day in the spring (typically late April or early May, during the peak of migration) for your team to get together and bird. Give it your all and submit your observations to eBird. Don't forget to have a good time!
4. Share your efforts with RAS. Points will be awarded for species observed, photographs, rare sightings, and other fun stuff.
5. Winners will be announced in the categories of dollars raised, species observed, and total points earned. Results will be published in the Thrasher and posted to the RAS website and social media.

Rules and Procedures:

• Donations can be made at any time at https://richmondaudubon.org/donate. Ensure your donors include your team’s name in the transaction notes (PayPal) or memo (check) so that we can give your team credit for it. Only donations made prior to the week of the results announcement will be credited to your team for that year.
• Your team must submit observations to eBird to earn credit for species and related bonus points. Your submissions will help scientists as well as fellow birders.
• Your team must bird together as a single group. Participants should remain within earshot of each other while birding. For a bird to be recorded, it need not be observed by every member of the team.
• Your team may choose any straight 24-hour period (it need not be within one calendar day) in the spring (March 21 through June 21 or thereabouts). You can even bird over multiple days, then submit your best straight 24 hours.
• Your team may bird anywhere in Virginia and its immediate neighbors (including offshore waters) by any means.
• To summarize your efforts and share them with RAS, use eBird’s Trip Report feature. Include the name of your team in the name of the report. Ensure the visibility of the report is either Link-only or Public. Share the link to the report by email to birdathon@richmondaudubon.org by October 31. Do not share individual checklists.

Earning Points:

Your team will be awarded…

• 5 points per complete checklist. Your team can still earn other points from incidental checklists. Successive checklists from the same location must be at least one hour apart.
• 1-5 points per species. See the checklist for each species’ base point value. The number of individuals observed does not matter.
• +1x points per species for each of the following (must be included on eBird checklists):
  • Photos
  • Audio
  • Videos – counts as photos + audio
  • Age and/or sex information – must be entered on the eBird website (no way to do it in the app); easiest workaround is to note age/sex info in the species comments in the app, then use the website later to enter it properly (we won’t count it if it’s only in the comments)
  • Breeding codes

Example: Your team observes a Blue-winged Warbler, which is worth 4 points. If your team also uploads photos of this species on any checklist(s), you will receive an additional 4 points. Age and sex information would add another 4. And so on and so forth.

Additional bonus points for 2026:

For this year’s Bird-a-thon, your team will also be awarded…

• 2x points for each species with prominent yellow plumage. For some species, only certain ages/sexes count. In these cases, your team must include media or sex information on your eBird checklist(s). Eligible species include:
  • Yellow Rail
  • Horned Grebe
  • Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
  • Northern Flicker
  • Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
  • Great Crested Flycatcher
  • White-eyed Vireo
  • Yellow-throated Vireo
  • Philadelphia Vireo
  • Golden-crowned Kinglet
  • Cedar Waxwing
  • Evening Grosbeak (male)
  • American Goldfinch
  • White-throated Sparrow
  • Seaside Sparrow
  • Nelson's Sparrow
  • Saltmarsh Sparrow
  • Yellow-breasted Chat
  • Eastern Meadowlark
  • Orchard Oriole (female or first-year male)
  • Red-winged Blackbird (male)
  • Golden-winged Warbler
  • Blue-winged Warbler
  • Prothonotary Warbler
  • Orange-crowned Warbler
  • Nashville Warbler
  • Mourning Warbler
  • Kentucky Warbler
  • Common Yellowthroat
  • Hooded Warbler
  • American Redstart (female)
  • Cape May Warbler
  • Northern Parula
  • Magnolia Warbler
  • Yellow Warbler
  • Chestnut-sided Warbler
  • Palm Warbler
  • Pine Warbler
  • Yellow-rumped Warbler
  • Yellow-throated Warbler
  • Prairie Warbler
  • Black-throated Green Warbler
  • Canada Warbler
  • Wilson's Warbler
  • Summer Tanager (female)
  • Scarlet Tanager (female)
  • Dickcissel
• 2x points per species for photos of that species nesting or with young.
• 2x points for native game birds, including landfowl (grouse, turkeys, quail), waterfowl (ducks, geese, and swans), Mourning Dove, rails (including coots and gallinules), snipe, and woodcock.
• +10 points for each complete checklist submitted within the Greater Richmond Region:
  • City of Richmond
  • City of Colonial Heights
  • City of Hopewell
  • City of Petersburg
  • Amelia County
  • Charles City County
  • Chesterfield County
  • Dinwiddie County
  • Goochland County
  • Hanover County
  • Henrico County
  • King and Queen County
  • King William County
  • New Kent County
  • Powhatan County
  • Prince George County
  • Sussex County
• +10 points for each complete checklist submitted for a park or conservation area. Eligible locations include, but are not limited to:
  • Natural Area Preserves
  • National Wildlife Refuges
  • Wildlife Management Areas
  • Properties maintained by conservation groups such as the CRLC or Nature Conservancy

Example: Your team gets a photo of a male Golden-crowned Kinglet at a nest and an audio recording of one singing. You include the photo, audio, age/sex info (adult male) and breeding code (e.g. N visiting probable nest site) on your eBird checklists. You would be awarded a total of 60 points: 3 points for the species, plus 3 points each for the photo, audio, age/sex info, and breeding code, multiplied by 2 for the yellow plumage, and multiplied by 2 again for the photo of the bird at a nest.

• Try soliciting many smaller donations. Ask the same donors multiple times.
• Each checklist submitted for a Richmond-area park or conservation area is worth 25 points.
• Even a common species can be worth up to 20 points with bonuses. A rarer species may be worth 100.