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The Baillie Birdathon is MRF's most important fundraising event, and has been undertaken annually since 2004. But in addition to being critical to MRF's operating budget, the Birdathon is always a fun event that provides lots of memorable experiences - not all of them involving birds either! Archived below are links to reports of our more recent Birdathon events. We hope these will inspire you to participate in the 2009 Birdathon - or at least to sponsor the MBO Birdathon Team in their efforts. Click here for further information.
MBO Birdathon 2010
The third annual "green" Birdathon conducted entirely on foot at MBO and the adjacent Morgan Arboretum was unfortunately timed this year, with few migrants in the area on the day of the count. Nevertheless, 64 species were observed in just half a day.
MRF Birdathon 2010
This year MRF's Executive Director Marcel Gahbauer took a different approach to the Birdathon, limiting himself to within the limits of the City of Toronto, and to walking or using public transit. Over 30+ km of walking, the species total grew to 101, with highlights including 20 species of warbler, and nesting Red-necked Grebes and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, both relatively new breeders in the area.
Red-eyed Wearios Birdathon 2010
This intrepid team of McGill Bird Observatory volunteers focused their efforts on southwestern Quebec and eastern Ontario this year, with highlights including Ruddy Duck, Sora, and Clay-colored Sparrow, among a total of 90 species.
MBO Birdathon 2009
The second annual "green" Birdathon based at MBO ended up being held during a bit of a lull in migration, but still yielded a decent list of 83 species including 18 warblers, plus other highlights such as a Great Horned Owl, some grounded Turkey Vultures and a nesting Red-breasted Nuthatch.
MRF Birdathon 2009
Inspired by the success of the "green" Birdathons by the McGill Bird Observatory team, MRF's Executive Director Marcel Gahbauer tried the same approach this year, but with the added twist of doing the count in Switzerland rather than Canada. While the list was unusually short at only 50 species, it was a memorable day all the same.
Red-eyed Wearios Birdathon 2009
A team of McGill Bird Observatory volunteers joined forces for a Birdathon at Ontario's famous Point Pelee, generating a list of 106 species including a rich variety of warblers and many other colourful spring birds.
Falcon-Duck Birdathon 2009
A report on the exploits of a new McGill University team and friends, exploring the rich variety of great birding locations in Ontario's Prince Edward County and finding 117 species in the process.
MBO Birdathon 2008
The first attempt at a "green" Birdathon based at MBO was a resounding success, with 7 hours of walking producing a list of 98 species, including 22 warblers, a Sedge Wren, and a nest of Common Raven ... all of this in one small corner of the island of Montreal!
MRF Birdathon 2008
While the MBO Birdathon effort this year was a very local affair, MRF's Executive Director Marcel Gahbauer took the opportunity to explore unfamiliar areas with his 2008 Birdathon, namely the Cypress Hills of southeastern Alberta. Despite some fog, torrential rain, and highly questionable road conditions, the total for the day ended up being a very respectable 136 species.
MBO Birdathon 2007
This year the MBO Birdathon was restricted to the island of Montreal, and still generated a list of 117 species, with highlights including stunning views of Virginia Rail and Black Tern, a swirling mass of four swallow species over a small pond near MBO, and a nice variety of 8 raptors.
MRF Birdathon 2007
Spending May in Alberta for the first time, Marcel Gahbauer found that the Birdathon experience was quite different from previous years in Ontario or Quebec - this report, subtitled "From cactus to snow canyons", highlights the variety of birding that can be encountered in a single day in Alberta.
MBO Birdathon 2006
Despite a second year in a row with rather dismal weather, this year's Birdathon team enjoyed a variety of memorable sightings, including 3 Little Gulls in beautiful breeding plumage, a bedraggled looking Eastern Screech-Owl peering out of its roost in the rain, and a half-dozen American Woodcocks 'timberdoodling' in the sky above at the day's final stop.
MRF Birdathon 2006
This year MRF Director Marcel Gahbauer combined his Birdathon with a drive from Toronto to Montreal, making small detours along the way to a variety of great spring birding locations. The resulting list included nearly 150 bird species, plus some other unusual observations, such as a forest that was literally raining caterpillars.
MBO Birdathon 2005
Periods of light rain and a chilly high temperature of just 10 Celsius weren't enough to dampen the enthusiasm of the participants in MBO's first group Birdathon effort, who managed to cobble together a list of 108 species
including 5 herons, 7 blackbirds, and 10 ducks.
MRF Birdathon 2005
For his 2005 Birdathon, Marcel Gahbauer teamed up with four others to form the "Raven Loonaticks" and strategized to find a route that would yield the maximum possible number of species within 24 hours, while staying entirely in Quebec. Despite some patches of inclement weather and missing some otherwise common birds, the team found an impressive total of 160 species.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT - AND PLEASE JOIN US FOR BIRDATHON 2009!
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