Nearly 9,000 birders accepted last year's eBird Checklist-a-Day Challenge to produce an average of 1 birding checklist per day throughout 2025 – that's a minimum of 365 checklists submitted to eBird. In December 2024, in advance of the new year, eBird challenged birders from across North America and around the world to submit an average of one complete checklist a day throughout the year. While it's really all about birding and contributing to eBird information, as part of the incentive, the challenge sponsor Zeiss presented a Terra ED 8x42 Binocular to 3 of the participating birders.
Winners were selected at random – essentially winning the eBird lottery – and we congratulate Pedro, Theresa, and Daniel, who each provided an interesting birder bio about themselves:
Pedro is from Chile, where he is a new but very enthusiastic birder. Starting a few months after becoming a birder, Pedro began submitting daily eBird reports on the birds he observed, having submitted more than 1,000 and counting already. Birding has also helped Pedro to develop his interest in photography, and he considers eBird to be a great platform that unites birders globally as they contribute knowledge selflessly, leading us to explore the birds and nature that surrounds us. Birding has taken Pedro to places he never imagined he would see, from the mountains to the open ocean, and it has motivated him to continue traveling to explore more birding locations.
Theresa is from Massachusetts and has been a lifelong birder, starting with walks led by her Dad and shared with her brothers. Today she credits her participation in eBird for getting her in touch with other birders in her county and helping her make new friends, which Theresa is grateful for. At a point when Theresa realized the stresses of adult life were beginning to take a toll, she credits finding some peace and calm whenever she picked up her binoculars and went birding. That's when she realized how healthy birding was for her: "Being outdoors, surrounded by nature, my only thoughts are on the birds I'm seeing. In those moments I am at peace."
Daniel is from Quebec and was introduced to birding as a teenager by siblings and friends, when he found that identifying birds by their plumage and songs was fascinating. Since 2006, Daniel has made birding trips to locations far beyond Montreal, including Panama, Peru, Tanzania, and several other countries. Daniel consults eBird for help to find new species, to check for recent sightings in the area, refer to rare bird alerts, and to keep his personal birding checklists that number more than 6,000 to date. Daniel said, "When I head out birding in the morning, I often tell myself there is no better way to spend the day; and I love exploring new places."
You can read the full biographic information provided by each of the Zeiss Binocular winners at 2025 Checklist-a-day Challenge Winners - eBird, and you can access eBird anytime at Explore - eBird