Saturday, May 10, 2025 is the Global Big Day of Birding. This annual celebration of birds encourages people across the globe to participate in World Migratory Bird Day by sharing their bird sightings on eBird. The purpose of the event is to raise awareness about bird conservation and encourage communities to preserve and protect bird habitats. To encourage local participation and to inject some fun into the day, Benzie Audubon Club is organizing its first Team Birding Event. 

We want to keep this simple, but we have a few guidelines we ask participants to follow:

1. You do not have to be a member of Benzie Audubon Club to participate.

2. Teams should consist of two or more people. Come up with a team name and register your team with me via email to nedthebirder@gmail.com. I need only the team name and the names of your members.

3. At least two team members should see/hear each bird.

4. Birds can be seen in Benzie County or any county contiguous to Benzie County.

5. The count period includes all 24 hours of May 10, 2025. 

We have reserved the pavilion at Mineral Springs Park in Frankfort and plan to meet there between Noon and 1:00 pm. Bring your own lunch, meet with other teams and learn what cool birds everyone is seeing. Then it is back to the field for those of us who are diehard birders. 

At the end of your day, please report your birds to eBird, or if you are not an eBird user, please report them to me via email. Once all teams have reported, I will compile the totals and announce the winners. 

We hope you will join us on Saturday May 10th for this worldwide effort to spotlight the importance of maintaining critical bird habitats in our own communities and across the world.