NOTE: This event is NOT restricted to TNA members (most events aren’t). All birders are welcome!
Instead of hanging up the binoculars after the Biggest Week and IMBD, join the TNA in their annual fun birding big day event. The friendly competition is for birders of all skill levels and will again cover Lucas, Ottawa, Wood, Sandusky, and Erie Counties. Planning a route is half the fun, and places like the Oak Openings, Magee Marsh, Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge and Pickerel Creek are all part of the geography and are among the very best birding locations in the entire state. Start at 7:00 p.m. Friday evening, or start at whenever you want with 2 or 3 of your best birding buddies and beat the bushes until 7:00 p.m. Saturday, finding and identifying (by sight or sound) as many bird species as you can. Those less competitive birders can still enjoy the fun by entering a team in the Freestyle Division. Click here to download the registration form. All interested parties are welcome to join the teams at the official countdown at Tony Packo’s (1902 Front Street) at 7:00 p.m.
Official Rules:
1. Field of Competition: Erie, Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, and Wood Counties, Ohio.
2. Competition Period: The competition period begins at 7:00 p.m. on the third Friday in May and ends 24 hours later at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday.
3. Teams: Each team must designate a captain and must register and compete under a team name.
4. Competitive Divisions: The four competitive categories and their qualifications are:
- Junior Division: All team members must be 18 years of age or younger on the day of competition. Teams must have 3 to 5 members.
- Senior Division: All team members must be 60 years of age or older on the day of competition. Teams must have 3 to 5 members.
- Human-Powered Division: Teams can have 1 to 5 members. All birds must be identified without the aid of motorized vehicles. Hiking, biking, jogging, standing, sitting, crawling, canoeing, kayaking, swimming, etc. are allowed. Teams may receive motorized assistance to reach the starting point of their day and to reach the countdown location, but birds may only be counted during one continuous human-powered portion of the day. Human-Powered teams are eligible to compete in other divisions if they otherwise qualify.
- Open Division: All teams not qualifying for the other divisions will compete in this division. Teams must have 3 to 5 members.
- Free-style Event: Registration of non-competitive teams will be accepted in the Free-style Division.
5. Registration: Each team must complete and deliver an official registration form to the event coordinator(s) by the Wednesday before the competition. Mailed registrations should be sent to: Matt Kemp, 2452 Orchard Rd., Ottawa Hills Ohio. Registrations can be emailed to mattkemp04@gmail.com.
6. Team List: Each competitive team will compile a team list comprising all the wild, unrestrained, non-released bird species the team identifies within the field of competition during the competition period. All members of each team must identify (visually or aurally), during the competition period and within the field of competition, every bird species on the team list (no 95% rule). Exception: Freestyle teams will compile a team list comprising all the wild, unrestrained, non-released bird species any member of the team identifies within the field of competition during the competition period. Species on the list do not need to be seen or heard by all members of the freestyle team in order to be included on the team’s list.
7. Non-participants Permitted: Competitive teams may be accompanied non-participating companions, but such non-participants shall not locate or identify any birds for the competing team members. Non-participants may drive (except human-powered teams), read maps, compile checklists, make encouraging remarks, make sandwiches, etc. – anything except finding and identifying birds.
8. Recordings Prohibited: The broadcast of any tape, CD, iPod, or other recordings of bird calls or songs is prohibited during the competition. Recordings may be used as a reference, provided they are not broadcast into the environment. Human-produced sounds are permitted.
9. Finish Line: Each team captain will submit to the Event Coordinator one official team list at the finish line Tony Packo’s Café (1902 Front Street, Toledo) at the end of the competition period (7 p.m.).
10. Penalty: A penalty of one species deducted from the team total for each five minutes late will be assessed to any competitive team submitting its list after the regulation 7 p.m. end of the competition period. Penalties will be calculated and assessed by the Event Coordinator.
11. Challenges: All competitive team lists will be available for review by other team captains prior to the announcement of winners, and challenges to any birds on the team lists may be made by the captain of any team in the same division as the team list being challenged. Challenges will be decided by a simple majority vote of the team captains in the same division present. Tie votes will be broken by the Event Coordinator. Successfully challenged species will be deducted from the challenged team’s total list.
12. Winners: The competitive team in each division with the highest accepted (corrected for penalties and successful challenges) team list will be declared the winner in its division. The team with the highest accepted team list will be declared the overall champion team. The champion team will be awarded the Peregrine Cup to be held until the following year’s competition.
13. Event Coordinator: An Event Coordinator will be appointed by the Board of Trustees of the Toledo Naturalists’ Association for the purpose of receiving competitive team lists at the finish line, assessing penalties, arbitrating list challenges, breaking challenge ties, declaring winners, presenting awards, and all other duties as necessary. The decisions of the Event Coordinator are final.
14. Please drive carefully and otherwise conduct yourself according to the highest levels of birding ethics. Participants compete at their own risk.
