Make your Big January 2021 Birding Count for the CT Bird Atlas.
Here are the rules for participating in the Big January 2021 COA/CT Bird Atlas Late Winter Surveys competition.
Points are scored by performing 1-hour winter surveys in specified blocks in accord with the protocol described here:
http://www.ctbirdatlas.org/Sur
The survey period is January 1 through January 31, 2021. The surveys must be received by the Atlas Team by February 10th. Any surveys received after this date will unfortunately be ineligible for inclusion in the points totals.
- A 1-hour survey performed in a block with less than 20% effort complete is worth 2 points.
- A 1-hour survey performed in a block with between 20% effort complete and 50% effort complete is worth 1 point.
See the map below of eligible blocks and check the CT Bird Atlas blog for more details.
Submission
Surveys can be submitted either by eBird checklist (preferred, and remember to share the checklist with CT Bird Atlas), a scanned copy of the atlas form emailed to ctbirdatlasdata@gmail.com, or mailed hard copy via USPS (address is on the data form, which can be found on the atlas website.)
In order for the surveys to be tabulated for points, the survey date, time, and block number (NOT the bird data collected) must be emailed to
hikerbirder1@gmail.com <hikerbirder1@gmail.com> or mailed to Dave Provencher, 11 Ortega Drive, Preston, CT. 06365.
(To clarify: Please do not share your eBird list with Dave, but do share it with ctbirdatlas. Just a note with the date/time/block number is all Dave wants. You can send them as you go or all at once at the end of the competition period.)
Blocks
The block’s completion level is held static at its current late winter percentage and will not change throughout the month of January for purposes of the competition. That is to say if a block is at 10% completion at the start of the month and it gets 8 surveys during the month it will still be considered at 10% completion on January 31st. This is to avoid “Moving targets” for point values. Any surveys performed in blocks with greater than 50% effort complete are not awarded points for the purpose of this competition but are greatly appreciated by the team of course! The effort is statewide and anyone can perform a survey in any eligible block. It does not matter if the block is “Closed” or “Open,” and we hope all block lead observers understand the need for data to be collected as the end of the project approaches.
Prizes
All eligible surveys received by February 10th will be tabulated and winners will be announced by February 20th, 2021. The awards are as follows:
- Greatest overall point total will receive the Vortex 8×42 Diamondback binoculars and 1 copy of “All the Birds of the World.”
- The second most points will receive 1 copy of “All the birds of the World.”
- The most points tallied by a “young birder” (aged between 11 years and 19 years on January 1st, 2021) will receive 1 copy of “All the Birds of the World,” and a signed print of this year’s junior winner’s CT Duck Stamp.
- Any point total ties will be decided by blind draw from a hat.
- Finally, 2 copies of “All the Birds of the World,” and 2 additional signed prints of this year’s junior winner’s CT Duck Stamp will be awarded by random draw from among the remaining participants who have performed a minimum of five 1-hour surveys during the competition period.
Once again COA and the Atlas team would like to extend our deepest appreciation to the anonymous donor who contributed so much to the awards available for this competition. Additional awards have been provided by COA and Atlas Team members.
Okay everyone, shortly it will be January 1, 2021. Time to make “Big January 2021” truly count!
Dave Provencher
COA and The CT Atlas Team
