May 14 is World Migratory Bird Day a day set aside to pay special attention to migratory birds and their conservation needs. As in the last few years, we are hosting events as part of this celebration on our “Big Day in May” (which we used to call “Birdathon”).
As in recent years, a core goal of Big Day will be a collaborative challenge to find as many species as possible on May 14th. You can do this in your yard, town, county, or statewide (as long as it’s in NH!), and all we ask is that you fill out a participation form with your sightings [the form goes live May 14-15] at the end so we can compile the data. For a bit of comparison, in 2020 we had 124 participants report 161 species (and it snowed!) while last year 89 people compiled a list of 173.
What will THIS year look like?!
To get the form you’ll need to register. We’ll also be offering beginner field trips at our McLane Center (lead by Mark Suomala) and Massabesic Center (lead by Doug Bechtel) at 8am on the morning of the 14th.
And to start it all off, NH Audubon’s own Dr. Pamela Hunt will present a Zoom program on “Big Day and The State of NH’s Birds” at 7pm on Thursday, May 12th. This talk will summarize the conservation information presented in our recently-published The State of New Hampshire’s Birds: A Conservation Guide, and provide a little extra info on the Saturday events.
Check out the events calendar to see what’s going on for Big Day. Joining an existing event is a great way to get started for the day’s count!
Stories from the snowy day in 2020 and the sunny day following
Videos by Becky Suomala of Birdathon weekend here:
Photo (top): Eastern Phoebe, by Walter Keane.
