This birding Big Day is a fun, fast-paced, semi-competitive race to see which team can identify the most bird species in Galveston County in 24-hours or during our NEW half-day option! As the day heats up, so will the competition, awarding the winning teams bragging rights and the Hotter than Hell Big Day trophy.
Contest Categories
Big Day (24-hr): June 25 – June 26, Noon to Noon
Half-Day (12-hr): June 25, Noon to midnight or June 26, 12:00am to Noon
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 Galveston Bird City Texas initiatives.
Don’t forget to join us for the count party and awards presentation immediately following the competition hosted at Palisade Palms. Full details will be provided upon registration.
See the rules, guidelines, team application and sponsorship opportunities below.
For the purposes of the GINTC Hotter than Hell Big Day, the “day” ends at 12pm on Monday, 26 June 2023. Teams can list birds encountered between 12pm on Sunday, 25 June and 12pm Monday, 26 June.
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 for both the full and half-day options. Each team member is guaranteed an event t-shirt in their preferred size provided they register prior to June 8th. After that date, shirts will be provided based on availability. Registration closes Friday, June 23rd. Teams must 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 June 8th will be recognized on the event shirt.