Hartford County Big January of Birding

[Sarah Faulkner]

Dear HAS Members,

 

It's that time of year!  The Hartford Audubon Society (HAS) is pleased to announce our ninth annual Hartford County Big January of Birding birdwatching challenge. The goal of the activity is to encourage folks to get outside during the month of January and see as many species of wild birds in Hartford County as possible. The challenge is free to people of all ages and is not intended to be competitive -- please share your findings and encourage new birders.

 And this year, the CT Ornithological Association is running an all-CT Big January, so you can do both ours in Hartford County AND the statewide challenge too! 

To participate in both challenges, birders should enter their daily or periodic observations into ebird.org, the free birdwatching site maintained by the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology.  If you don’t use eBird, you can list your species, date seen, location, and brief description, and send it via email or mail directly to me right at the end of January. It must be received by Wednesday, February 4^th.  You do not need to be a HAS member or reside in Hartford County to enter. At the end of the month, Hartford Audubon will retrieve all the data and award certificates and prizes. There are four categories:

• Youth (ages 4-10) who must see at least 25 species to enter
• Teen (ages 11-17) who must see at least 35 species to enter
• Weekend Warrior (adults ages 18 and up who can’t get outdoors during the week) who must see at least 50 species to enter
• Adults (ages 18 and up who can get outdoors during the week) who must see at least 60 species to enter.

All entries that meet the minimum number of species for each challenge group will receive a certificate of achievement.  A special prize will be awarded for the highest species count for each challenge group, and the coveted “Golden Grebe” award will be given to the birder finding the most unusual bird.  Please see the HAS website at https://www.hartfordaudubon.org/ for contest details.

 

January, 2026 may be a very interesting month and a joyful way to enter the new year. There are some rarities showing up this week - I hope they will stay until after January 1st!  I've never seen a barnacle goose in Connecticut!

 

Please feel free to share this email with all your bird-loving friends.  We’d like nothing more than to hand out dozens of certificates!

 

Wishing everyone a healthy and birdy 2026,

 

Sarah Faulkner

 

 

The Hartford Audubon Society was founded in 1909 as a non-profit organization. The purpose of the Society is to foster and promote public interest in conservation of our wildlife and other natural resources, and the study and protection of birds.  HAS owns and maintains several wildlife sanctuaries, offers numerous public bird walks throughout the year, and holds regular meetings and educational programs.  Please visit our website at www.hartfordaudubon.org for more information.

 

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