All proceeds go directly to Tracy Aviary’s conservation work.
How it Works
BIRDERS: Anyone can participate as a Bird-A-Thon birder. Ask your friends and family to sponsor you with a certain dollar amount per bird species you see on May 8. Then, sign up to attend one of our field trips* or go birding on your own and share your eBird list with us. We’ll tally up the number of birds you saw and contact your sponsors to provide their donation to the Aviary. As a thank you to participants, birders will also be eligible for a number of fun prizes!
SPONSORS: Want to support our work? You can sign up to sponsor one of our field trip teams. Just pledge a single donation amount or dollar amount per bird species seen during the field trip. You can also pledge a donation for different target species that we’re hoping to see. We’ll tally up the birds we saw and contact you afterwards to provide your donation to the Aviary.
*We are limiting field trip size, first come-first served.
Sponsor a Bird-A-Thon Team
We have three teams heading out on three different field trips that you can sponsor:
The Phalarope Phans (estimated species count 120): This team, led by Conservation Ecologist Bryant Olsen, will go out on a full-day trip starting at dawn and ending around 9pm. They will try to find the many birds that use the rich avian habitat surrounding the Great Salt Lake. The itinerary may change depending on where the birds are, but Bryant generally visits Farmington Bay, Antelope Island, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Promontory Peninsula, and the Golden Spike area. A long but fun day - In years past, we’ve seen over 100 species on this route! Sponsor the Phalarope Phans.
The Bullock’s Oriole Bandits (estimated species count 50): This team, led by Director of Conservation, Cooper Farr, will explore the excellent bird habitat found at the Galena – Soónkahni Preserve. Participants will meet at 7am and bird for 3-4 hours along the lake. Sponsor the Bullock’s Oriole Bandits.
The Dipper Division (estimated species count 30): This team, led by Aviary Director Tim Brown, will visit some mid-elevation riparian and foothills habitat in City Creek Canyon and the surrounding areas. The group will meet at the City Creek Canyon trailhead and walk up the trail. It will run approximately 4 hours, from 7am-11am. Sponsor the Dipper Division.
Target Species
This year we’ll be on the lookout for 6 target species that represent different important bird habitats and conservation projects that Tracy Aviary works on and supports. Sponsors will have the option to pledge money for each target species that we document on our field trips.
Tracy Aviary’s Conservation Fund has supported conservation efforts to protect Long-billed Curlew from illegal shooting in Idaho.
Our multi-state research project uses RFID-enabled bird feeders and community science feeder count surveys to fill data gaps about Black Rosy-finches.
Tracy Aviary and Young Living are supporting numerous Owl Conservation projects, including local Burrowing Owl monitoring.
Community Scientists can always submit data to Project Broadtail, a Tracy Aviary project that helps identify important habitat for Broad-tailed Hummingbirds.
Our Community Science team monitors riparian areas in Salt Lake to protect and enhance habitats for birds like the Yellow-breasted Chat.
Tracy Aviary’s Conservation Fund has supported many years of research, monitoring, and conservation of Snowy Plover in Mexico and throughout the U.S.
Thank you to our partners for providing support and prizes for this event:
Wild Birds Unlimited Salt Lake City, UT - 1967 E Murray Holladay Rd