This month’s eBirder of the Month challenge, sponsored by Carl Zeiss Sports Optics, will explore what birds you can find from your yard! The eBirder of the Month will be drawn from eBirders who submit 20 eligible checklists during April from an official eBird Yard. To track what you’ve seen in your yard or garden, log in to eBird and add your home checklist locations to eBird’s official ‘Yard’ tool (learn how). Checklists must have an observation date during April. Winners will be notified by the 10th of the following month.
If you want to build the biggest, best yard or garden list, we challenge you to focus on birds for at least 5 minutes a day. Better yet, set aside several 5-15 minute blocks throughout the day to look for and report birds from your home. Keep a separate eBird checklist for each block of time you are watching birds.
And remember that the birds you spot in your neighbor’s yard count for your list too! At eBird, we want you to count every bird you see or hear from your home, regardless of where the bird is. If you only count the birds within your yard, your checklist is incomplete!
Read our full set of tips on discovering birds in your yard or garden
Each month we will feature a new eBird challenge and set of selection criteria. The monthly winners will each receive a new ZEISS Conquest HD 8×42 binocular. In addition, don’t forget about the 2020 Checklist-a-day Challenge—can you submit 366 eligible checklists this year?
Carl Zeiss Sports Optics is a proven leader in sports optics and is the official optics sponsor for eBird. “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and support the vital scientific data being collected by dedicated eBirders.” – Richard Moncrief, Birding and Nature Observation Segment Manager at Carl Zeiss SBE