For birders around the globe, January 1st marks a clean slate for their birding list. Every bird they hear and see might be a “FOY” or first of the year. Even the often overlooked pigeon and gull gets viewed through a new lens of excitement.
To celebrate, the COA is excited to bring back our Big January event. This friendly competition encourages birders to spend some time observing birds around the state. With prizes awarded to the individuals who see the highest total number of species across the state, in each county, and something special for those individuals who manage to see more than 100 species, it’s a fun excuse to get out and explore in the midst of New England’s stick season.
Keep reading for this year’s full Rules and Guidelines.
2026 Categories:
The Winner in each of the following categories will win a prize and receive a Commemorative Certificate:
- Individual Birder with Highest Count Observed Across Connecticut
- Individual Birder with Highest Count Observed per Connecticut County
- Individual with Highest Single Location Count (Requires Manual Reporting)
Receive a Commemorative Certificate from the COA for the following:
- Individuals who Observe* 100 Species or More
- Youth (ages 4-10) ** with 25 species or more
- Teen (ages 11-17) ** with 35 species or more
*Observed birds include both seen and heard only species
** Please email us to let us know if you are in one of these categories: coa-info@googlegroups.com
How to Participate:
If you use eBird to submit all of your observations, there is no need to supply them directly to us unless you want to manually report your count for a single city/town. Our Big January team will pull the data from eBird. Please email coa-info@googlegroups.com to let us know if you are in one of the youth categories.
If you do not use eBird, please keep a record of where and when you first observed each species throughout the month and forward the total results to our team at coa-info@googlegroups.com. Please note, deadline for manual reports is February 2, 2026.
Guidelines:
- The competition is honor based. Please make every effort to ensure your identifications are correct. Reports of rare birds may require photo or detailed descriptions to be counted.
- The expectation is that proper birding ethics will be observed by all participants at all times.
- Birds must be observed within Connecticut (including waterways and airspaces).
- Please be respectful of private property and neighborhoods.
Photo Submissions:
Photos of birds seen throughout the month (both our regular friends and uncommon visitors) are welcome for submission to be used in COA promo for future events, throughout our social media, and in our summary report at the end of the event. To send us your photos, please email a digital copy to coa-webmaster@googlegroups.com with the species name, date observed, and location observed (county will suffice).
***Rules and Guidelines adapted from Dave Provencher’s 2020 post.
Current eBird Standings:
