Bill Rowe
Our third annual Birdathon went extremely well. It was organized by teams that would go birding for one or more days during the month of May, sometimes even for the whole month. Those who signed up to go birding individually were considered a “team” of one, while others formed themselves into groups of various sizes. We gained many more participants than last year, a total of about 50 people, registered as 21 teams—not counting those who simply lent their support by contributing.
Team leaders (including the individual teams of one) were expected to contribute something themselves and were asked to canvass their friends and relatives for pledges in support of their efforts, either a flat amount or per species they found. We are delighted to report that the revenue from these efforts was over $9600, more than three times what it was last year, given by about 140 individuals.
This was beyond our hopes but, in retrospect, not entirely surprising, since we intentionally worked hard to make this a top fundraising event for St. Louis Audubon. Virtually our entire Board participated or at least contributed, and some of us went all out in canvassing our friends, families, and colleagues for pledges of support. One member, for instance, sent an appeal to 132 people on behalf of his team and got a contribution from 39 of them. We felt that it was essential to make this kind of push, given the uncertainties about our other events due to COVID-19. Our staff also put in a great deal of time on web design, communications, and tracking of donations.
It’s fun to note that, collectively, our participants recorded a total of 203 species of birds during their registered Birdathon activities, whether a day’s worth or a month’s. This included 13 species of waterfowl, 11 raptors, 23 shorebirds, 12 flycatchers, and all 36 warblers that normally occur here. Rarities included Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, a Mottled Duck, two Red Knots, and an Anhinga, but most of the list simply represented the fine variety that is resident here, or migrating through, every spring of every year. To see the full list, go here.
Looking ahead, one main result of this year’s experience is encouragement to begin planning for 2021! We think the Birdathon has the potential to do even better as a source of funding for the essential work of St. Louis Audubon: providing the community with education about nature, enjoyment of nature, and advocacy for nature.
