Though the soaring temperatures in May might make you uncomfortable going out birding it’s still one of the best times of the year to watch breeding behaviour. There are also 3 one-day events happening in May– Endemic Bird Day, Himalayan Bird Count and Global Big Day!
The challenge for May is to aggregate at least 35 eligible* checklists throughout the month. Here is the break up of lists per week and on 14th May: (Please follow the order given in the brackets below):
- At least thirteen lists from 1st- 13th May (minimum 1 list each day)
- At least five lists on 14th May
- At least seventeen lists from 15th- 31st May (minimum 1 list each day)
Lists made on the 14th of May will be counted for India’s Endemic Bird Day and Global Big Day.
The first edition of Himalayan Bird Count is also on 14th May 2022. Birders residing/traveling to Himalayan regions can participate in this event. See here for more details.
Whenever you see birds showing any signs of breeding, choose the breeding behaviour codes. To do this in the eBird App, tap the species name, tap on ‘Add breeding code‘, and select the appropriate purple circle that is closest to your observation (see the example below). (Please note again, F and H are not breeding codes).
While birding, please ensure that you adhere to COVID-19 related instructions by central and local authorities.
Please upload all your lists by 10 June 2022 so that we can announce the results soon after that.
* Eligible checklists are those that report all species seen/heard (and are therefore marked ‘complete’), report numbers for all species rather than Xs, and are of at least 15 minutes or longer in duration.
Here are the general rules of our monthly challenges. And check out the yearlong challenges for 2022 as well! You can keep track of fresh lists coming in from India on this page.
A list of challenges at the global level can be seen here. The global eBirding challenge of the month will be posted soon.
For those new to eBird, read the brief description, and go through our detailed beginner’s guide; create an account and start using eBird right away to get used to the platform.
Header Image: Eurasian Coot Fulica atra ©Neeraja V/ Macaulay Library
