Celebrate this year’s World Migratory Bird Day (or weekend!) by spending time bird watching and fundraising for a host of long-distance migrant species – including the beautiful and Critically Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper, a shorebird that depends on tidal-flats here in East Asia during its migration.

Open to members and non-members, experts and first-time birdwatchers, the Birds Korea Birdathon is an annual sponsored one-hour to 24-hour bird watch (see Birds Korea 2011 World Migratory Bird Day Birdathon, 2011 Birds Korea World Migratory Bird Day Birdathon Results, 2nd Annual World Migratory Bird Day Birdathon and 2nd Annual WMBD Birdathon Results for past events). In line with this year’s World Birdwatching Day theme of networking, money raised will go towards our making of a mini-documentary on Spoon-billed Sandpiper conservation, a project we are undertaking through a collaboration with Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology, and towards strengthening our networking and advocacy work in North America, summer home to several of our longest-distance migrants.

Spoon-billed Sandpiper – now one of the world’s rarest long-distance migrants…

Bar-tailed Godwit: This Korean species flies non-stop for more than a week from New Zealand to Korea…before flying for another week to reach Alaskan breeding grounds…before flying non-stop for more than 10,000km all the way back to New Zealand for the winter!

This year our Birdathon coincides with the peak of northward migration so there will be plenty of birds for participants to see. The rules are simple:

1. Participants decide how long their Birdathon will be (between a minimum of one hour and a maximum of 24 hours);

2. Participants decide where it will be (either inside or outside of the ROK, in one place or in many);

3. Participants decide on whether they “go solo” or do the Birdathon as part of a team of 3-4 people (with all members required to see or hear each species before counting it);

4. Participants inform Birds Korea of their decision to join the Birdathon no later than May 4^th;

5. Participants seek sponsors for every species that they can see or hear during the Birdathon (the sponsor sheets (PDF) is available for download here);

6. Participants then send their Species Lists and any collected monies to Birds Korea by May 15^th (please see sponsor sheet (PDF) for details, including of bank transfers).

As part of the celebration, we would be delighted to receive images and personal accounts for posting on our blog and websites and also for sharing with the official website of World Migratory Bird Day.

And this year, thanks to Mr. Richard Crossley (author and co-founder of the Pledge-To-Fledge global birding initiative) and the Princeton University press, we can proudly announce the following prizes for winners of the 2013 Birdathon:

• The INDIVIDUAL raising the most sponsorship money will receive a signed copy of “The Crossley ID Guide - Eastern Birds”

• The INDIVIDUAL recording the most species in the Republic of Korea will receive a signed copy of “The Crossley ID Guide - Eastern Birds”

• The TEAM recording the most species in the Republic of Korea will receive a set of three high-quality Birds Korea cups (illustrated with three iconic Korean migratory bird species: Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Great Knot and Baikal Teal)

All Participants and Sponsors will of course be acknowledged on our websites and win both our thanks - and the thanks of the birds!

For inquiries or comments on the 2013 Birdathon, please contact: birdathon@birdskorea.org

And for more on World Migratory Bird Day, please see: http://www.worldmigratorybirdday.org/2013

And on “The Crossley ID Guide - Eastern Birds”: http://www.crossleybooks.com