The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is hosting its first ever birding competition in May. The goal of the event is to encourage participants to try birding and to raise awareness about protecting migratory birds in Missouri.
The competition will be held May 1-15. Participants can choose to work alone or on a team organized by age, birding experience and comfort level. Team fees range from $10-25 per person or team depending on the category of entry and will go towards migratory bird conservation efforts.
Some of the free webinars leading up to the challenge will teach participants about the dangers people can pose to birds traveling through the state.
“Something we should all be concerned about is how migratory birds are at high high risk of decline,” said Kristen Heath-Acre, the challenge coordinator and state ornithologist. “A study that came out about six years ago now showed that we lost three billion birds in the past 50 years in North America alone.”
Registration for the challenge will be available on the Missouri Department of Conservation’s website throughout April. Participants will be entered into raffles to receive prizes such as binoculars and gift cards..
The Missouri Department of Conservation’s webinars will focus on introducing participants to birding and educating them on specific issues around conservations for birds. A full schedule of birding webinars and registration for the birding challenge will be available on the Missouri Department of Conservation website.
