Birdathon 2019 Results

by Carolyn Knight, Birdathon Coordinator

Thank you to all of our incredible supporters and participants who brought in more than $39,000 for this year’s Birdathon! 83 participants journeyed out into Santa Clara County’s parks, reserves, and even a museum in support of SCVAS educational programs, divided into 22 teams, including ten 24-hour teams, and twelve 4-hour teams.

Our participants brought in more than 270 individual donations within the competition window alone, with Bob Hirt, Deborah Jamison & Steve Patt, Barry & Ginger Langdon-Lassagne, Renee Polizotto, and Carolyn Straub placing in the top five fundraisers, respectively. Team efforts were just as impressive – Bob Hirt’s Rock Wrens raised nearly $5,000 and won the team fundraising competition, while Lisa Myers’ Persistent Picidaes brought in more than $4,000 in fundraising for second place, and Bill Pelletier’s Sharpies chasing close behind for third place.

But Birdathon isn’t just about donations, as much as we appreciate them. The Varied Twitchers, led by Mike Rogers, found 153 species on their 24-hour trip, while the leadership in species count for our 4-hour teams was taken by the Wandering Kestrels led by Barry and Ginger Langdon-Lassagne and Melanie O’Brien, with 101 species. This year’s “Best Bird” category was nabbed by a Blue Grosbeak spotted by Bill Pelletier’s Sharpies.

SCVAS is especially grateful to all of our sponsors who donated prizes in support of this year’s Birdathon. We would like to extend many thanks to our Golden Eagle sponsor who donated prizes valued at $600 or more: Bob Hirt; our Great Egret sponsors who contributed prizes worth between $250 and $599: Chuq von Rospach, Los Gatos Birdwatcher, Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris, Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards, and Beauregard Vineyards; as well as all of our Western Bluebird sponsors who provided prizes worth up to $249.

I am especially grateful for the Birdathon Committee’s support: Chuq von Rospach, Bob Hirt, Steven Patt, Michael Armer, and Barry Langdon-Lassagne. The Committee spends nearly nine months of the year working to keep Birdathon fun for our participants and successful as a fundraiser, and it would not be possible without their help. Thank you for all of your enthusiasm and dedication!

Of course, Birdathon would be nothing without all of our participants. This fundraiser is vital to supporting SCVAS education programs, which just this last year impacted nearly 2,000 elementary school students throughout seven cities in our county. We thank you all for your generous support. Happy birding, and we’ll see you next year!