Well, I’m not the type of guy to let a border stand in my way so I thought I might try to get a few Minnesotans interested in our little fund-raising effort up here in Manitoba. After all, the birds don’t care much about that abstract line between us. Every year the Baillie Birdathon raises money for Birds Studies Canada and the James L. Baillie Memorial Fund. More than 7,000 people from Canada and around the world participate in and/or sponsor the Baillie Birdathon in May of every year. During a 24-hour period in May, they attempt to find as many bird species as they can, sponsored at a flat rate, or on a per-species basis. Birders can designate a favourite conservation organisation to receive a portion of the funds they raise. Every year there is a celebrity birder. Last year this was none other than David Sibley. This year it will be the “Manitoba All-Stars”. Cal Cuthbert, Ken De Smet, Rudolf Koes, Peter Taylor and Adam Walleyn will attempt to break their own Canada big day record of 214 species set in 2008. This year, they are not just showing off their extraordinary birding skills, they’re also raising money at the same time. To sponsor them go to: http://www.bsc-eoc.org/support/birdathon then on the left click "sponsor a participant" and select the first item from the drop-down menu on our website, which is "Manitoba All-stars." (alternatively enter the Participant ID # 100093) Now… to make this even more interesting… perhaps some folks in MN might like to try to beat the Manitoba big day total? Nothing like a little friendly competition to spur people on! If you feel like biting, why not register as a participant at the above website by clicking on “register now” and get in touch with me if you do. It’s a lot of fun and all for a great cause! Anyway, what better way of doubling the tremendous joy of birding than by raising money for the birds at the same time! Contact Christian Artuso (Bird Studies Canada’s Manitoba Program Manager) at cartuso[AT]birdscanada.org or (204) 945-6816 for more details.
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