Birdathon: May 1 - 31, 2025

Join us for our most exciting fundraiser of the year!

Birdathon is a uniquely Audubon way to support our mission and help protect our birds.

Our Birdathon has two components:

Friendly birding competition

In this hallmark activity of our Birdathon, teams compete in a friendly birding competition to see who can spot the most bird species and raise the most money while doing it.

Similar to a walk-a-thon, participants collect pledges from family, friends, work colleagues, and others who want to support local wildlife conservation. But instead of getting a pledge of $1.00 per mile walked, participants ask for a pledge for each bird species seen by a person or team. Teams can also ask for pledges of flat amounts (i.e., $25).

Participants can rack up species counts and pledges for the entire month of May.

Photography contest

Our contest focuses on the incredible birds of Washington state. We are lucky to have so many talented photographers in our state, and our contest provides opportunities for both young and elder to showcase their photography in our youth and adult categories.

Learn more about the photo contest

Thank you to our sponsors!

Fundraisers like Birdathon are critical to our ability to carry out our mission of protecting and conserving our local bird communities. Every pledge and donation, no matter how large or small, makes an enormous difference in supporting our efforts.

Help us reach our goal of $13,000!

Make a Donation

Total Pledged

Participate in our Friendly Birding Competition

Emphasis on friendly! This is all in good fun, and the real winners are the birds because you are helping to boost local bird conservation efforts - thank you!

Simply follow the steps below to participate and show your support for birds!

Create and register your team here. Teams can be one individual or as many people as you would like.
Ask your friends, family, and social circles to support your team and passion by making a pledge to your team. Pledges can be for a fixed amount or a per species pledge. For example, a friend could pledge to donate $50 or they could pledge $0.50 per species you see. See our fundraising tips to get started!
This year we will have the following categories:
- Big Day - see as many species as you can in a 24-hour period anywhere in the world
- Big Month - see as many species as you can anywhere in the world during the whole month
You can participate in both categories simultaneously, no need to choose just one! Use our Birdathon species checklist to keep track of your Washington birds.
Throughout the month, be sure to report your species counts and pledges so we can update the team tracker below! Fill out the form to submit your totals.
At the end of the month, follow up with your supporters who have made pledges and collect their pledged amounts based on your birding success! Be sure to fill them in on how your Birdathon month went! Tell them about your best sighting, funniest story, or best memory from the event.
Send in your collected donations and pledges to:
Pilchuck Audubon Society
1429 Ave D, PMB 198
Snohomish, WA 98290
Or, if your sponsors would like to submit their pledge online they can use our online donation form, just have them mention your team name in the comments box.

Be a Sponsor/Donor

Maybe you’re not really a bird person, but your best friend or relative lives and breathes birds. You can support their passion by making a fixed pledge to their Birdathon team at any time (for example, $50), or by making a per-species pledge towards their final species count (for example, $0.50 per species). Make a donation here or let them know you want to make a pledge! Help us reach our goal of $13,000!

How to submit your species count & pledges

Click the button below to submit your updated species count and pledge totals. Please submit these as often as you’d like, but at least once per week. We will keep a running tally for each team, so send in your updated numbers often and check back frequently to see how everyone is doing!

Submit your species counts & pledge values

2025 Big Day (Species Counts)

2025 Big Month (Species Counts)

Meet Our 2025 Birdathon Teams!

Birding for our Caws

Team members: Brian Zinke and Madelyn Voelker

We are excited to participate in our 6th Birdathon! Our counts from previous years are:

2024: 120 species
2023: 78 species
2022: 112 species
2021: 103 species
2020: 77 species

Support Brian & Madelyn

Four Eyes Birdswise

Team members: Hilkka and Claire Egtvedt

Long-time Birdathon participants, Hilkka and Claire are always one of our top fundraising teams!

Support Hilkka & Claire

Counting Crows

Team members: Terry Nightingale, Sue Nightingale, Lisa Weber, Jonathan Blubaugh, Judy Hall, Douglas Resnick, and Esther “Kelli” Marks

A few of us met on a Saturday outing years ago. As time went on, the others joined us on other outings or on Christmas Bird Counts. We're coming together this spring, in order to have fun birding and to raise some money for PAS!

Support team Counting Crows

Hooters

Team members: Jessica Steppe, Lesa Steppe, Allison Trichler, Belle John, Diane John, Anna Horner

We are an all girls team that loves birds!

Support Team Hooters

Meltoni’s Warblers

Team members: Matthew Melton, Mary Melton, and Eva Melton-Shallenberger

We are a family of birders since playing the boardgame Wingspan six years ago. It has turned into a love of birds and seeing them in their natural habitat. Our binoculars are almost always around our necks. This is our first time participating in an event like this and we are looking forward to engaging more with this community and helping conserve this natual world we are blessed to inhabit.

Support Team Meltoni's Warblers

The Skywatchers

Team members: Jean Giudice, Ellis Kammer, and John Kammer

Team Skywatchers is a homeschool family team made up of a nature-loving mom and her two curious, bird obsessed kids. Together, they spend their days learning outdoors, identifying birds by sight and sound, and keeping detailed nature journals. Whether in their backyard or on a forest trail, birding is one of their favorite ways to learn and connect with God's awesome creation. They are excited to be part of this competition and are proud to help raise funds for the Pilchuck Audubon Society, supporting local conservation and education efforts.

Support Team Skywatchers

Losing Our MARBLED Murrelets

Team members: Hannah Toutonghi, Halle Lambeau, Josh Mendoza, and Jess Matyas

Support Team Losing Our Marbled Murrelets

Guillemot Gang

Team members: Elizabeth Vashro, Alyssa Kjonsness, Jette Prinsloo, Gabriella Abshere, Ninoshka Merino, and Alex Siecke

Support Team Guillemot Gang

Unable to participate this year but still want to support our programs, science, and conservation efforts? Make a donation today!