• 61 South Main Street Farmington, Utah 84025
  • M-F 8am to 5pm

Bird Race

The bird race is a modified version of a big day birding competition with unique rules and a shorter duration for teams to enjoy. It offers three divisions, beginner, relaxed, and competitive, to accommodate birding teams of varying skill levels.

Great Salt Lake Bird Festival Bird Race

Saturday, May 10, 2025

6:00 am - 6:00 pm | Competitive division until 11:00 pm

What is the GSL Bird Fest Bird Race?

The bird race is a modified big day birding competition. A big day in birding is when you try to identify as many species as possible in a single calendar day. In our version we have some unique rules, quirks, and most importantly, a shorter version instead of a full day, so teams can rest, and safely enjoy the event! This year the race will be organized into three team divisions: beginner, relaxed, and competitive, so birding teams of different skill levels can compete where they feel makes sense.

Create your team, review the rules below, and get ready to join us for this exciting pre-festival competition starting off from Davis County. Prizes and awards will be presented at the Keynote Dinner on Saturday, May 17, 2025 at 6:00 pm.

Register Now

Registration fee is $10 per person. Registration will open in March 2025.

Rules

  • There are 3 divisions

- Competitive - serious, fast-paced

- Relaxed – not-so-serious, fun day of birding

- Beginner - great for new birders, youth, and anyone doing their first big day

  • The race will begin at 6:00 am and end at 6:00 pm, with the Competitive division competing until 11:00 pm

  • Start and Finish at location TBD

  • No playback allowed

  • Teams must consist of 2-5 registered individuals and travel together in one vehicle. Splitting up team members into multiple vehicles is not allowed.

  • Teams must have at least one photographer

  • Teams may ONLY go birding in counties that border the eastern edge of the Great Salt Lake: Davis, Salt Lake, Weber, and Box Elder Counties

  • Teams must track their species via eBird. 

- One member of each team shall keep the official checklists 

- We encourage creating checklists for every location you look for birds.

- After the race, attach at least 1 image of every species you photographed to the correct checklist no later than 9:00 PM on Monday, May 12th.

- Before the Bird Race begins, whoever will be making checklists should log in to their eBird account on the web, and create a trip report: https://ebird.org/mytripreports 

- Name the Trip Report: 2025 GSLBF Bird Race: Team Name

- Set the start date as 10 May 2025 and start time as 6:00 AM

- Set the end date as 10 May 2025 and end time as 11:00 PM

- Set the visibility to Public

- Follow the steps to Save and View Trip Report and then please share the link with western.tanager@gmail.com 

- Example Trip Report: https://ebird.org/tripreport/124760

- The trip report will be your official tally for the Bird Race.

  • After the race is finished you will need to upload at least 1 photo of every species your team photographed to the correct checklists. 

  • Have Fun! And if you have questions during the day you can text Tim at 801-440-3035 to clarify any rules questions you have!

  • Tag your photos on social media with #gslbirdfest and #utahbirdrace

Scoring

  • Teams will receive points per species with up to 4 points available.

- 2 points for a visual or Audio ID 

- 4 points for a photo ID 

  • The team in each division with the highest combined score will be the winner of that division. 
  • Prizes will be given for 1st Place, 2nd Place, and Participation. 

  • Best Photo Prize

- Teams will submit their single best photo by 7:00 pm on Sunday, May 11 to GSLBirdFest@daviscountyutah.gov. Include “Team Name Best Photo” in subject line and include the bird species and where the photo was taken in the email body.

- Photos will be posted to the Great Salt Lake Bird Festival Facebook page on Monday, May 12 and the photo with the most “likes” by 5:00 pm on Saturday, May 17, 2025 will be the winner.

 

If you or your business would like to sponsor the GSL Bird Festival Bird Race by donating prizes or swag, please reach out by email to GSLBirdFest@daviscountyutah.gov or by phone at 801.451.3286.

Davis County Government

Our fundamental duty is to serve the community. We are actively engaged in improving the quality of life for everyone in Davis County.


LOCATION | 61 South Main Street Farmington, Utah 84025

MAILING | P.O. Box 618 Farmington, Utah 84025-0618



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