Purple Martin, photographed by John Harris of the Mountain Brewbirds team.

A huge thank-you goes out to the Birdathon teams and donors who helped us raise $13,887 for this year’s event!

The 2024 Birdathon was a success, thanks to the dedicated WFO birders who fielded nine Birdathon teams throughout the west. Taking place at the late end of the spring migration calendar—the official Birdathon window extended from May 1 through June 15—the combined effort nevertheless chalked up an impressive total of 229 species throughout the event.

As of this writing, the top three fundraising teams together raked in over $8,700 in donations.  Way to go Confirmed by Merlin, Western Field Optimists, and Solano Species Seekers!

As well as giving the Birdathon teams an excuse to get out and go birding, the friendly competition supported three great causes, with a nod to WFO’s San Diego conference later this year.

• Light-footed Ridgway Rail habitat restoration through ReWild Mission Bay, a project of the San Diego Audubon Society and the ReWild Coalition of 85 community partners.
• WFO’s Student Programs, in particular scholars from Mexico so they can attend the San Diego conference in October and share research.
• WFO’s general fund and publications.

We thank all the teams for participating in the 2024 Birdathon—great job everyone!—and we hope to see you next year.