Birding Big Day 2020

BirdLife South Africa’s 36th Birding Big Day (BBD) will take place on Saturday 28 November 2020. Below is the information one needs to participate (please read the instructions carefully).

PLEASE NOTE THAT A DECISION WHETHER BIRDING BIG DAY 2020 WILL GO AHEAD WILL ONLY BE TAKEN LATER IN THE YEAR, I.E. WHEN WE HAVE EVALUATED THE COVID-19 REGULATIONS AND WHEN WE ARE SURE THAT THE EVENT CAN BE HELD SAFELY. WE WILL ADVERTISE OUR DECISION WIDELY THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA AND OTHER MEANS.

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Teams are invited to log their sightings on the mobile app BirdLasser. The sightings will automatically be displayed on a dedicated BirdLasser Birding Big Day event page (https://www.birdlasser.com/events/bbd2020). In order to participate, one member of the team must enter the data on BirdLasser while birding. The following information must be provided on BirdLife South Africa’s online form:

• The name and email address (the address used to register on BirdLasser) of the person in the team who will log the sightings on BirdLasser.
• Team name which will appear on the BirdLasser events page.
• Names of team members.

During the day, the challenge page will automatically update as teams record their sightings, thus adding to the excitement of the day. Progress will be reported in social and other media. For more information about BirdLasser, visit www.birdlasser.com or email support@birdlasser.com.

For the first time we will also have provincial BBD counts. All participants will be loaded in each of the nine provincial BirdLasser events and scores will be kept as to how many species each team record in a province. Please note this will only be available for teams using BirdLasser.

The links are:
Gauteng: https://www.birdlasser.com/events/bbd2020Gauteng
Eastern-Cape: https://www.birdlasser.com/events/bbd2020EC
Free State: https://www.birdlasser.com/events/bbd2020FS
KwaZulu-Natal: https://www.birdlasser.com/events/bbd2020KZN
Limpopo: https://www.birdlasser.com/events/bbd2020LIM
Mpumalanga: https://www.birdlasser.com/events/bbd2020MPU
North-West: https://www.birdlasser.com/events/bbd2020NW
Northern Cape: https://www.birdlasser.com/events/bbd2020NC
Western Cape: https://www.birdlasser.com/events/bbd2020WC

If BirdLasser was used, each team needs to verify its species list on their phone and the website within 48 hours of the event. The species list at 24:00 30 November will be considered as final. To resolve any issues, please email support@birdlasser.com.
If you are not using BirdLasser, please email your results to bbd@birdlife.org.za before  5 December 2020 using this checklist.

Participants can participate in one of two categories:

Open Category
The rules for this category are:

• The maximum area that can be visited is an area within a radius of 50 km.
• Record all the bird species seen or heard during a 24-hour period from midnight on Friday 27 November to midnight on Saturday 28 November 2020.
• Teams can consist of a maximum of four members.
• Only free-flying birds may be recorded (i.e. no caged birds).
• The majority (for example 2 out of three or 3 out of four) of the team members have to agree on a call or sighting.
• Teams are requested to limit the use of callback to attract birds to an absolute minimum (preferably avoiding using callback at all). This is especially true when birding in a nature reserve or national park or targeting threatened bird species.

Community Category
The rules for this category are:

• This category caters for large groups, such as bird clubs, who want to enjoy the day birding together. There is no limit to the number of team members.
• A team leader must be selected who will be the main contact person.
• The maximum area that can be visited is an area within a radius of 50 km.
• Record all the bird species seen or heard during a 24-hour period from midnight on Friday 27 November to midnight on Saturday 28 November 2020.
• Only free-flying birds may be recorded (i.e. no caged birds).
• Teams are requested to limit the use of callback to attract birds to an absolute minimum (preferably avoiding using callback at all). This is especially true when birding in a nature reserve or national park or targeting threatened bird species.

You need to register for Birding Big Day before the event by completing the online form. There is no entry fee, but a minimum donation of R300 is required to qualify for a BirdLife South Africa Birding Big Day 2020 cloth badge. Please note that only four cloth badges will be produced per team of four members. For teams with more than four members an additional R45 will need to be paid per team member.

Please use the payment reference ‘BBD’ followed by your team name and send deposit slip or proof of payment via email to bbd@birdlife.org.za. This is important to ensure you are put on the list to receive your badges; incorrectly referenced payments might not be allocated to your team.

Latest date for payments for BBD badges is 15 December 2020.

Bank account details

• Account Name: BirdLife South Africa
  Bank: First National Bank
  Branch: Randburg
  Branch code: 254005
  Account number: 62067506281

If anything is unclear or you need more information, please contact bbd@birdlife.org.za.