BIRDING BIG YEAR COMPETITION SIGN-UP STILL OPEN

It’s not too late to sign up for the Kansas Birding Big Year competition

PRATT – Birders can still sign up for the 2013 Kansas Birding Big Year, a competition where participants attempt to observe as many species of birds as they can within the borders of Kansas. Unlike other “big year” competitions that span the U.S. in a calendar year, participants in the Kansas Birding Big Year can compete any time now through Dec. 31, 2013.

“The real driving force behind this competition is getting folks into the Kansas outdoors to enjoy nature and the fun wildlife watching opportunities available,” said KDWPT wildlife education coordinator Mike Rader. “We also hope this competition will help show folks just how many different kinds of birds either migrate through or call Kansas home.”

Participants can compete in one of three categories: youth (16 and under), adult (17-64), and senior (65 and up) by logging their data into the online service, eBird, available on the Cornell University web site, www.ebird.org. Winners from each category will receive prizes to be awarded next January. Event sponsors include Acorn Naturalists, Cabela's, Bass Pro Shops, Bushnell, and Walmart.

Participants must register for the competition, at http://ksoutdoors.com/birding-big-year or by emailing Rader at mike.rader@ksoutdoors.com. To compete, birders will submit their list totals online. Birds must be observed within Kansas boundaries, and must be species accepted by the Kansas Bird Records Committee of the Kansas Ornithological Society. Qualified birds must be alive, wild and unrestrained, and diagnostic field marks must be seen, and/or heard and documented by the recorder.