Survivor Massachusetts?

Think of it as 'Survivor Massachusetts.'  Mass Audubon's Bird-a-thon is a 24 hour competition to count as many Massachusetts bird species as possible.  There are 26 teams battling each other and battling the elements.  The competition is fierce, and the conditions can be brutal.
Bird-a-thon is never cancelled due to weather.


Team members might be faced with heavy rains and driving winds, forced to huddle under tarps or tattered umbrellas while desperately peering through raindrops in search of birds that don't move or sing when it's raining, anyway.

We might be facing flood conditions again, forced to trudge through slimy, swirling water or trying vainly to keep upright on steep slopes of squelching, foot-sucking mud. 

A heat spell means rivulets of sweat dripping from every pore.  And no matter what the weather, there are hazards waiting to strike around every corner.  Mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, bees, flies, and mayflies are everywhere.  Deer ticks are ubiquitous and bloodthirsty in May, and each one that bites brings the threat of Lyme disease.   

Not to mention poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, stinging nettles, impenetrable thorns, razor sharp beach grass, and so on.  You know, all the normal outside stuff. 

What do you have to do?  Nothing, really.  Just click here to make a donation to support our team and to support Mass Audubon.  Give whatever you can afford.  Remember that the habitat we are trying to protect is your habitat, too!