This birding Big Day will be a fun, fast-paced semi-competitive race to see which team can identify the most bird species in Galveston County in 24-hours. As the day heats up, so will the competition, awarding the winning team bragging rights and the Hotter than Hell Big Day trophy.
Teams will consist of 3 to 5 members and should practice safe distancing throughout the event.
The event is presented by the Galveston Island Nature Tourism Council and sponsored by Galveston Island Brewing (GIB), which will host the awards presentation on its outdoor grounds at day’s end.* GIB will provide a free pint of beer to all participants 21 years of age or older.
Participants will help build citizen science data on eBird during one of the least birded times of the year. Event proceeds will support GINTC’s operations that were affected by the cancellation of FeatherFest 2020 due to COVID.
See the rules, guidelines, team application and sponsorship opportunities below.
*The celebration at GIB is subject to change depending on the directives of State and local restrictions and conditions at the time of the event.
For the purposes of the inaugural GINTC HtH Big Day, the “day” ends at 5pm on Thursday, 6 August, 2020. Teams can list birds encountered between 5pm on Wednesday, 5 August and 5pm Thursday, 6 August.
Galveston Island Nature Tourism Council is interested in promoting the natural resources of Galveston County; therefore, the geographic limit for birds that can be counted for the HtH Big Day is Galveston County. We are interested in showcasing all areas of Galveston County and encourage teams to survey the entire county for this event.
Each participant is required to maintain proper birding ethics at all times as defined in the ABA Code of Ethics.
REGISTER YOUR TEAM…
As a Team Captain we ask that you please complete the ONLINE TEAM REGISTRATION FORM, which includes the names and email addresses of all team members. The team registration fee is $100. Each team member will receive an event t-shirt provided they register prior to July 23. Teams may have a minimum of 3 members and a maximum of 5 members, including the Captain.
HOW SPONSORSHIPS WORK…
With several levels of sponsorship, we hope there will be a broad range of interest among team supporters, friends and birding enthusiasts. To facilitate the sponsorship process, GINTC will email each Team Member a SAMPLE SOLICITATION MESSAGE suitable for distribution to potential sponsors or to be posted to social media. Those interested in making a sponsorship donation will be asked to complete a SPONSORSHIP FORM and then directed to GINTC’s secure PayPal portal for payment. We hope this process makes it easy for Team Members to solicit sponsors and help reach our fundraising goals. Businesses and individuals sponsoring the event at $500 or more before July 23 will be recognized on the event t-shirts.