Before you start.

• Read the rules and be sure that all team members understand them.
• Study birding guides to refresh your identification skills. Decide which checklist to submit for documentation. The TBRC Texas checklist is available here.
• Decide as a team which prizes you want to compete for and structure your day with that purpose in mind.
  • For example, if you want to compete for the Mockingbird Award, then select one team member to tally all the mockingbirds, and as a group agree that when one person sees a mockingbird, they will call it out so the rest of the team can see it too. And then it can be counted.
  • If you want to compete for the muscle power award, then you must plan a route that can be walked, kayaked, biked, etc.
  • If you want to compete in the sitting duck category, pick a place, pack your lunch and bring comfortable chairs, a hat, sunscreen, and your lunch and drinks.
• Pick a day when all team members can attend and focus all their attention on Birdathon 2008.
• Plan a route.
• Plan where team members will meet to follow the route. Decide when to start birding and when to stop.
• Assign a scribe - a person who can focus on the task of logging the birds seen and their locations.
• Assign a time keeper - a person who tells helps the team stay on track and provides times for the scribe to write in the notebook.
• Decide what your team’s ground rules should be. For example, will you allow side conversations or is everyone expected to constantly look for and call birds?
• Solicit pledges. Our goals this year are 50 teams and $50,000.

The Day Before B-Day (Birdathon Day).

• If possible, have one team member scout the route ahead of time.
  • Know where bathrooms are available.
  • Where can one stop for an emergency soda?
  • Check the sign in sheets at the local wildlife refuges or ask what has been seen at local birding hot spots along your route.
  • Where might one encounter an owl during early morning or late evening hours?
  • Check tide schedules too because shorebirds way out on the flats at low tide are hard to identify.
• Clean your binoculars and scope. Pack your lunch and field guides, sun screen, mosquito repellent.

On B-Day (Birdathon Day).

• Meet on time and get going early
• Bring lunch because it saves time.
• Pay attention!
• Have fun!

The Next Day.

• Call your donors and tell them how many species you counted. Thank them for supporting you.
• Ask them to complete the online payment form or send their checks to:

  Houston Audubon Society
  440 Wilchester Blvd
  Houston, TX 77079

• Turn in your Pledge Tracking Sheet and any checks or cash you have collected to Houston Audubon. The deadline for your pledges to count toward prizes is 5:00 PM, May 9, 2008..

C-Day (Celebration Day - May 20, 2008).

• Attend the Awards Celebration on May 20, 2008 at the United Way Center starting at 6:00 PM.
• Enjoy the hors d’oeuvres.
• Collect your great prizes donated by our wonderful sponsors and enjoy the kudos of the adoring crowd.