Now that September is over, it’s time to announce the October challenge. Migrants are pouring into various regions of the country, and October officially kicks off the winter season in the majority of places. This means that more birders will be out and about, resulting in an increase in bird sightings! The objective of this month’s challenge is to upload as many lists as you can, contributing to the various birding events happening at the national and global levels.
The challenge for October is to aggregate 40 checklists throughout the month. Here is the break up of lists per week and weekend: (Please follow the order given in the brackets below):
- Seven lists from 1st- 7th October (1 list each day)
- Twelve lists from 8th- 10th October (4 lists on each of these 3 days )
- Twentyone lists from 11th- 31st October (1 list each day)
Each individual list must be at least 15 minutes long, and all checklists must be effort-based, no-X, and complete. Lists made during the 8th October weekend will be counted for India’s Wild Bird Day, October Big Day, and Global Bird Weekend. Last year on the occasion of Wild Bird Day, more than 900 eBirders uploaded almost 3,000 complete lists, recording 719 species on a single day. Can we beat this record?
Please upload all your lists by 10 November 2021 so that we can announce the results soon after that.
Important: While birding, please ensure that you adhere to COVID-19 related instructions by central and local authorities.
Here are the general rules of our monthly challenges. And check out the yearlong challenges for 2021 as well! You can keep track of fresh lists coming in from India on this page.
Header Image: Eurasian Marsh-Harrier Circus aeruginosus by Pankaj Chibber/ Macaulay Library
