The Virginia Birding Big Day will be returning on Saturday, October 3, and any Virginia birder can register a team of friends to compete in one of several categories, including a youth category and regional categories. Teams can compete anytime from midnight to midnight to find as many species as possible, with each team choosing their hours of participation and birding modes. Teams collect pledges in advance (such as $2 per species observed or heard) from individuals or organizations to benefit the Virginia Society of Ornithology's new youth programs: The VSO Young Birders and the Virginia College Birding Initiative!
These newly established groups aim to provide funds to send Virginia young birders to American Birding Association youth birding camps, as well as funds for high school student bird studies, binoculars for young birders, local VSO chapter youth programs, high school bird clubs, and grants for college bird clubs.
This statewide event is organized by the Virginia Big Day Committee, an independent group of birders from around the state. To learn more about the Virginia Birding Big Day and to register, see Virginia Birding Big Day – Bird the state away! You can also learn more about the Virginia Society of Ornithology and its research and other projects at Virginia Society of Ornithology. Register by October 1st at About the Day – Virginia Birding Big Day