Colorado Birding Challenge Results are In!
This article contains updated information and slight modifications from its original post to COBirds on 16 September 2024.
Colorado Birders,
I know you are all on the edge of your seats waiting for news about the Colorado Birding Challenge! Without delay, here are the 2024 results.
THE CHALLENGE
First-place honors go to The 100 Percent Confirmed by Merlin Team! Michael Dougherty and his team birded in Grand County (par 63) and counted a whopping 94 species, 31 over par!
Honorable Mentions:
* The Flock Finders, led by Kristin Tallis in Jackson County, reported 95 species, 25 over par.
* Owl Show You Some Birds, led by Kathy Kay, reported 115 species in Weld County, 19 over par.
* One Big Holiday, Ryan Votta’s team, found 98 species in La Plata County, 18 over par.
* The Marvelous Spatuletails, led by Bryan Gieszl, dug up 77 species in Pitkin County, 17 over par.
* The Weld-winged Warblers, led by Edward Landi. Birding Weld County they were the only other team to get into triple digits with 111 species, 15 over par.
* The Gilpin Goshawks, Nathan Pieplow’s team found 62 species in Gilpin County, 11 over par.
THE GREEN CHALLENGE
In first place, The White-bearded Helmetcrests, Nick Komar’s team, biked 27 miles in Larimer County tallying 85 species without burning hydrocarbons!
Honorable mention:
* The Roving Boulder County Oscines, Henry Stiles’ intrepid team, found 63 species in Boulder County.
THE UNDER-25 CHALLENGE
We heard from several individuals that school responsibilities prevented them from participating this year.
BIRD YOUR OWN WAY
Thirteen teams participated in this non-competitive category representing nine counties. Thanks to everyone for your efforts including The Chaffee Chasers, Davis’s Deck-a-thon, The Conejos Cuckoos, The LS Bird Nerds, The Tuesday Birders, and The Beak Geeks!
Of course, the true winners are the Conejos River Restoration Project and the CFO programs that benefit from all the participating teams and their supporters.
There were 26 registered teams that birded in 15 counties. The Challenge raised over $16,325, and the eBird data generated by each team is valuable to researchers and policymakers.
It is not too late to make a donation to the challenge!
Thanks to Colorado Field Ornithologists for hosting this event, and to the other members of the Colorado Birding Challenge Committee Mark Minner-Lee, Nick Komar, Sondra Bland, and Chuck Hundertmark.
Best,
Peter Burke
COBC Committee Chair
