Thank you
CFO thanks all the participants and donors who participated in the 2024 Colorado Birding Challenge!
Conejos River Restoration Project
The Conejos River is the largest tributary to the Rio Grande in Colorado, both originate in the San Luis Valley. The Conejos system supports wildlife habitat, agricultural production, and outdoor recreation. The Conejos River Restoration Project, an effort in partnership between the Rio Grande Headwaters Restoration Project and Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, addresses the need for multi-benefit restoration along four miles of the Conejos River.
- PHASE I - Surveying and Planning - Completed Spring 2023
- PHASE II - Priority Project Implementation - Current Phase
- PHASE III - Secondary Project Implementation - Future Work
Donate
Fundraising for the 2024 Colorado Birding Challenge ended on 1 October 2024.
It's a Team Effort!
Competitive teams must consist of at least two participants and follow the ABA Big Day rules. Only birds identified within your team’s designated Colorado County will count toward your total. Please take the time to read and understand these rules, particularly the 95% rule (95 percent of each team’s final list must have been definitively seen/heard by all members of the team), and the commitment not to utilize information from other birders, including eBird reports or other electronic sources during the Challenge.
Bird Your Own Way teams are free to conduct their big day however they prefer. Do a county big day, a big sit, a feeder watch, or simply go birding.
Level Birding With Par
Not all Colorado Counties were created equal! Our great state has 64 unique counties, some are bigger than others, some have mountains, some have reservoirs. All have different habitat types and given the geographic diversity, the number and timing of migrants may be very different on any given day.
During the Challenge, we want teams to bird all the counties -- not just the "birdie" ones. In an effort to create a level playing field, CFO developed a formula that we call “par.” Using 10 years of eBird data, and taking into account how intensely each county has been birded, we’ve determined how many species might reasonably be expected to occur in each county during the Challenge. At the end of the day, teams will be ranked by the percentage of total par for their county that they observe.
Each team’s official total will be compared with the par value for the county birded, and this is how we will determine which is the winning team. For example, if one team competes in Conejos County (par 62) and reports 75 species, that represents 120% of par. A team birding in Larimer County might have a higher total, say 95 species, but since the par value for Larimer is 109, that would represent 87% of par. Thus the team birding in Conejos would finish higher.
This is a novel approach. We hope this will motivate teams to choose these under-birded counties and improve our understanding of birds across Colorado.
CATEGORIES
The Challenge - Teams in this category compete to maximize their county list using a vehicle(s) to travel throughout their selected county.
Green Challenge - Teams in this category compete using only human-powered transportation (no eBikes or other motorized vehicles.
Under 25 Challenge - All team members must be aged 25 or younger to participate in this category.
Bird Your Own Way - Individuals or teams are invited to participate in this category, whether they are traveling or simply keeping a yard list.
Competition Rules
The competition will take place on Saturday, September 14th from 12:00 AM to Midnight, rain or shine. Only birds seen or heard within your team’s designated county on this day will count toward your total.
For the three competitive categories:
Teams must consist of at least two participants and follow the ABA Big Day rules. Only birds identified within your team’s designated Colorado county will count toward your total. Please take the time to read and understand these rules, particularly the 95% rule (95 percent of each team’s total must have been definitively seen/heard by all members of the team) and the commitment not to utilize information from other birders, including eBird reports or other electronic sources during the COBC.
An eBird Trip Report must be submitted listing all birds counted as your team’s official count for the day. We encourage teams to keep individual eBird checklists for each location visited rather than keeping long traveling lists that are of limited value to researchers. Trip Reports must be emailed to cobc@cobirds.org along with your team name and county by 5 PM on Sunday, Sept. 15.
For non-competitive teams or individuals:
You are free to conduct your big day however you prefer. You can do a county big day, a big sit, a feeder watch or simply go birding. You are free to seek sponsors for your count or make a donation yourself. Register for the COBC and you’ll receive a link to set up a COBC Team Page that lets people know about your goals and allows them to support you with donations!
To add your count total to the official COBC list, keep track of your sightings by making eBird checklists, create an eBird Trip Report for September 14, 2024 and email your Trip Report along with your team name and county you birded in to cobc@cobirds.org by 5 PM on Sunday, Sept. 15.
Thank you for helping CFO reach its 2024 goal to raise $50,000 supporting CFO programs and the Conejos River Restoration Project!
Frequently Asked Questions
How To Participate
Register for the COBC on the CFO website. There are four categories to choose from: The Challenge, The Green Challenge, Under-25 Challenge and Bird Your Own Way. After selecting the category, you will choose the county you want to bird in. Once you complete registration, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to create your COBC Team Page.
The COBC Team Page lists all the details for your COBC Challenge. Enter your team name, the members of your team, the county you are birding in, your species goal and your fundraising goal. You can share the link to your Team Page with friends and family who may be interested in supporting you with a donation or a per-species pledge.
No. However, CFO is a membership-funded organization so please consider joining CFO and enjoy the many benefits of membership including discounted registration fees for the COBC. If you prefer not to join, you are still welcome to participate in the event.
No. Only the Team Leader needs to register. For The Challenge and The Green Challenge there is a registration fee, and only one fee is required per team.
Yes. You can read the Official COBC Rules on the COBC website. If you have any questions, email the COBC Committee at cobc@cobirds.org.
Each COBC Team is listed on the COBC website. You can review the list to see which county teams have selected to participate in.
To take part in the competition, teams must participate on Sept. 14. The Bird Your Own Way (non-competing) category, as the name suggests, can take place on a different date. COBC donations need to be made by Sept. 30.
There is no rain date. The event will proceed as scheduled, rain or shine. If weather impedes your itinerary, you may move to another county, but you may only report data from one county if participating in a competitive category. Please note the county change when submitting your total to CFO.
Submitting Species Lists
Report your sightings in eBird. One of the goals of the COBC is to increase the number of eBird lists throughout the state, particularly in counties outside of The Front Range that have much fewer eBird lists. These data help us better understand the occurrence and timing of birdlife in Colorado.
Create an eBird list for each location you visit. You can set up an eBird Trip Report that will combine all your lists for the day and keep track of your species total. When you are finished birding, email your trip report to cobc@cobirds.org.
eBird has many user-friendly instructions available at eBird.org, many are listed on the CFO Learning webpage cobirds.org/improve-your-birding. If you aren’t familiar with eBird Trip Reports, you can learn more on their support page on eBird Trip Reports. If you do not find the answer one of these ways, you may contact cobc@cobirds.org for additional assistance.
If you are unable to use eBird to record your observations and report your results, you may still participate in the Bird Your Own Way category and the money you raise is still valuable and appreciated.
Donations
The COBC Team Page includes a donation link. You can email a link to your Team Page to friends and family so that they can donate a specific amount. Another way to raise money is to seek pledges for each species you or your team finds. To do this, you will need to contact those individuals after you have completed your COBC and let them know your species total. Then they can use the link on your Team Page to complete payment.
All of the funds raised will support CFO and its conservation partners. The majority of the funds will go to The Conejos River Restoration Project, an effort in partnership between the Rio Grande Headwaters Restoration Project and Bird Conservancy of the Rockies. Donations will also support CFO programs like Grants and Scholarships, the Colorado Birds journal and other research and conservation initiatives.
My question is not included in this FAQ. How do I get more answers/information?
Send an email to cobc@cobirds.org. One of the Challenge coordinators will respond as soon as they are able by email or by telephone if you provide a callback number.
Colorado Birding Challenge Conservation Grants
Colorado Field Ornithologists invites applicants to submit proposals to be the beneficiary of each year's Colorado Birding Challenge. Proposed projects should have a lasting benefit to Colorado birds or the habitats on which they rely.
More than $75,000 has been raised and donated for conservation efforts through the Challenge since 2021. The application period opens annually in early fall and closes in mid-November.