What is the YardBirdRace?

Anyone in Western Washington is eligible to enter the YardBirdRace.  Racers try to see (or hear in some cases) as many bird species as they can safely identify in or from their yard in a calendar year-from Jan 1 to Dec. 31.

Purpose of the YardBirdRace

To promote the sport of birding, to promote & celebritize birds, and to promote the improvement of habitat on human-occupied lands.

Who Wins?

High score in a given neighborhood, city, town, county wins.  However, there are complexities.  YBR is not about encouraging count-inflation and it understands that vigilance and observational skills in any given yard do not always translate into more species.  Therefore from the standpoint of giving out prizes: EVERYONE WINS!

What are the prizes?

Pick any one of the following!

• One year subscription to the superb quarterly magazine WASHINGTON BIRDER.
  
  
  
  
• One year subscription to BirdLife International, an organization devoted to saving bird species all over the globe. Members receive the superb magazine World Birdwatch dedicated to conserving bird species all over the world, which is mailed from the United Kingdom. Limited number.
  
  
  
  
• One year subscription to American Bird Conservancy. Includes a newsletter, shown at right. Limited quantity.


• One year subscription to your local Audubon Society.


• Violet-Green Swallow Nest Box (this prize will be subject to Ed Newbold locating a new manufacturer, as he has lost his old source, Chickadee Hut of British Columbia).
  
  
  
  
• The guide Book Birds by Ken Kauffman ( Limited number).

How to Enter?

Keep track of how many bird species you see from your house or yard or land between now and the end of 2006. Email us at YardBirdRace@Yahoo.com with the following information:

• your name or names,
• your address,
• your phone number,
• your bird list,
• and the name (optional) of any regional or neighborhood newspapers or radio/TV stations that I might not already know about.
• Also designate your yard-type using the key below bottom of this page.

Entering the YardBirdRace implies your willingness to be interviewed by the press and media.

Key to Yardtypes:

Some subjectivity and confusion on the margins of yard-types is inevitable:

M - named for multifamily, condos, apartment buildings, includes any urbanized or commercialized space.

R - is regular residential, let's make the lot an acre or less.

G - is near a park greenbelt or defacto natural area.

W - is near enough to a large body of water that identification of birds on it is fairly easy and not limited to a Mt. Palomar Observatory style telescope.

A - is over an acre with no upper limit.

Working Yard:

YardBirdRacing from your work place may make sense.  We call this a working yard  and the same yard-types apply.