Here are your 2025 Birdathon teams!
Click the button near each team picture to visit a team’s fundraising page where you can make a donation or a pledge.
You can also make a general Birdathon donation or support one of our teams through our main fundraising page!
This Year’s Winning Teams:
Can I Speak to Your Tanager?
Captain: Matt Felperin
Team: Julia Tanner and Greg Block
Big day was on May 5, this team saw an incredible 103 species, wow! Check out the team page below to see their eBird list! Note a few species hidden from public view to protect sensitive species.
WINNER of '“Most Species Counted” - Congrats!
Flock Around and Find Out
Team Captain: Arielle Smith
Team: Nathan, Ken
Big day on May 3. This first-time team birded for 13 hours, walked 11.5 miles at four locations and counted 72 unique species! Amazing work! Check out a few photos they took here.
WINNER of “Most Species Counted by a New Team” - Congrats!
Board Birders
Captain: Tom Blackburn
Team: Libby Lyons, Dixie Sommers
A returning team, they saw 84 species last year.
Read about their experience here. This year’s marathon Birdathon was just as impressive. Click on their team page to read all about their big day on May 8. Their efforts have raised an incredible $2,300+ for bird conservation. Well done!!
WINNER of “Most Money Raised” - Congrats!
Scarlet Teenagers
Captain: Evan Demsey
Team: Theo Andronescu, JP Priniotakis, Lincoln Tillemann and Jacob Masten
Chaperone and chauffeur: Fred Atwood
Fred organized this teen birding club to participate again this year. The students found and identified 100 birds, birding from 4AM to 8:30PM. Notable birds were Tennessee Warbler and Ring-necked Duck. They are competing for the youth prize! See their eBird list here.
WINNER of “Youth Birder” Prize - all participants under 25 - Congrats!
Nesting Since ‘98
Captain: Jade Jansen Abuzaid
Team: Rachida and Abdel Abuzaid
Big day was May 4. They saw 53 species, not bad at all for their first time participating in Birdathon! Jade’s highlight was hearing a black-throated blue warbler at Huntley. Check out their final ebird list on their team page.
WINNER of “Widest Age Range on a Team” - Congrats!
Birding Friends of Little Hunting Creek
Team Captain: Betsy Martin
Team: Claire Kluskens, Paul Siegel
A returning team, this team saw 42 species on one residential property due to windy conditions. Highlights included a Spotted Sandpiper, a Mother Wood Duck and her ducklings, and a tree full of Cedar Waxwings! See more about their big day on their team page. Kudos to this team for raising $1,100+ for bird habitat programs.
WINNER of “Backyard Birdathon” for most species counted on one residential property. Congrats!
Honorable Mentions:
Three Little Towhees
Captain: Louise Edsall
Team: Sean Edsall and Rachel Edsall
A returning team, this year in memory of the late Bart Edsall who loved this event and was a talented birder by ear. This team saw an impressive 79 species, and has raised over $1,000 in memory of Bart. View their team page to make a donation.
The Avian Avengers
Captain: Ajani Simmons
Team: Alisa Wong, Sohan Tamang, Kathleen Trainor, and Frances O’Malley
First time participants in Birdathon, observed 45 species and raised an impressive $775+ to support outreach to diverse communities. This team’s captain also led a program for Black Birders Week (May 25-31) to raise awareness! Learn more about Black Birders Week here.
Watch our Black Birders Week webinar on Sparrow Identification here.
The Bowerbirds
Team Captain: Joanne Bauer
Team: David Bauer, Linda Fuller, Greg Butcher
A returning team, they birded for 13 HOURS and saw 83 species, well done! Also, this is their 10th Birdathon! Kudos to this team for their fundraising success - raising over $1,300 from 17 donors, wow. Check out the full list of birds on their team page.
We would like to earnestly thank every team that participated in Birdathon this year. Your efforts to raise funds and awareness about birds and wildlife have inspired dozens of your friends, family, and even strangers to donate in your honor.
So far, we estimate that all our Birdathon teams together have raised $14,500+!
Last year, we raised $15,768. Let’s beat that number this year! Please consider making one more donation to a winning team, one of the honorable mentions, or perhaps to a team that bravely participated for the very first time - to help us in the final stretch. Donations towards the Birdathon campaign are accepted through May 31, 2025.
Welcome to Our First Time Birdathon Participants:
The Occoquanderers
Captain: Sean Fox Fahey
Team: Blake
First time participants in Birdathon, they also participated in the Virginia Birding Classic, seeing 107 species (wow!) but they did go outside nova boundaries so are not eligible for the most species seen prize. Still an impressive feat! Check out their team page for their ebird list.
Climate Deflyance
Captain: Nick Newberry
Team: Najeyah and Price
They went out for their big day on April 20 and saw 70 species, wow! Amazing work for first time participants in Birdathon.
Huffin and Puffin
Team Captain: Alex Parker
Team: Amanda Murray, Lauren Tidwell
Big day was on April 26, their goal was to see 60 species and they saw 67 at 5 locations!
1st time participating!
Team Phichiw
Captain: Rita Peralta
Team: Jose Peralta
First time Birdathon participants and siblings, this dynamic duo saw 37 species on a rainy day, not bad at all!
Hichcock Birds
Captain: Heather Ruth
Team: Penelope (Rae) Ruth, Ash Adams-Culter, Rachael Romano, Julie Shepherd
This family team includes teen 16 y.o. Rae (xe/it/ them), who saw 37 species, mostly at home but some at OBNWR. Check out their team page to see the full list and to cheer on this young birder & xer family with a donation!
Wood Duck Would Bird
Team Captain: Tina Dudley
Team: Kelly Greer, Mike Horton, Ceryen Tan, Aditi Iyengar
Big day on May 1, saw 24 species on one residential property. Highlights include Kingbird, Belted Kingfisher and Green Heron.
Birding with Purpose
Captain: Tamika G.
Team: Kenetia and Courtney
First time participants in Birdathon saw 22 species, well done.
Heron Things
Captain: Alyssa Bosold
Team: Kang
Big day was May 3. Alyssa and Kang saw 21 species including a Cooper’s Hawk and Blue-gray gnatcatcher! First time participants in Birdathon.
Backyard Amachirrrps
Captain: Chris Krockel
Team: Sophia
First time participants in Birdathon, saw 18 species.
Sigma Yellow Chat
Captain: Leeanna Pletcher
Team: Owen Baird and Mary McLean
Team Sigma Yellow Chat did their Birdathon on May 5 and saw 17 species at two parks in her neighborhood, including a Common Yellowthroat.
Puffin Power
Captain: Joan Flaherty
Team: Charlie Garlow
First time participant team saw 14 species in their Backyard. Thank you for building habitat at home!
Owl Be Reading
Captain: Amanda Robinson, Executive Director
Team: Angie, Jenna, Shannon and Emily
1st time participating in Birdathon!
South Run Bird Buddies
Captain: Bev Horton
Team: Bud Horton
Special Thanks to Our Returning Teams:
Thomson Warblers
Captain: Ron Grimes
Team: Ann-Elise Quinn, Elizabeth Dow, Lydia Bartholomew and Karen Chiang
A returning team, they saw 68 species last time, and beat their record, seeing 75 species this year at 5 locations! Check out their ebird list on their team page. Well done!
Team Wingdings
Captain: Maggie Siddle
Team: Janet Siddle
A returning team. Their Big Day was April 20, they saw 44 species. Well done.
Flock of Seagulls
Captain: Emilia Puma
Team: Scott Slora, Lisa Peck, Enzo, Ines, MDC
A returning team, Flock of Seagulls saw 40 species this year and has raised an impressive $800+ to help local bird conservation. Well done!
Bird Brains
Team Captain: Carlyn Kranking
Team: Maggie Haley, Casey Haley and Ian Armstrong.
A returning team, they saw 31 species this year, highlight included a flock of 62 Whimbrels at Dyke Marsh! Check out their team page to see their eBird lists.
Special Teams
Monticello Madness
May 15 dawned drenched from a late-night torrent, but the birds didn’t care – and neither did we! Fantastic kudos to our great community of birders whose keen eyes and ears across 12 hours of birding in Monticello Park helped us find 65 species – smashing last year’s record of 58!
The most unusual sightings were a Common Nighthawk – a late-afternoon fly-over seen and heard by several, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo that made a very early morning appearance, apparently flying from the bottom to the top of the park and out, and a Red-tailed Hawk soaring high above. The closest we came to a nemesis bird was the Hairy Woodpecker, a common denizen of the park that eluded most of us, except Bill. Once again we had 18 warbler species – including a couple of Canadas, a barrage of Blackpolls, a richness of Redstarts, and Emily’s quick glimpse and photo of a Wilson’s!
Check out the final tally and see all the warblers they found on their team page!
Four-Mile Run Park Birdathon: May 4, 2025
This team included participants from Four Mile Run Conservatory Foundation and Casa Chirilagua, and observed 38 species, including highlight species such as Orchard Oriole, Yellow Warbler, and Killdeer! Several participants were birding for the very first time.
Before the bird walk, volunteers reached out to community neighbors with information about Casa Chirilagua’s services, provided a children’s birdfeeder activity, and planted a new native garden on site!
Donations will go towards programs like Stretch Our Parks. Thank you!
Mason Peeps
Board Member Tom Wood will be bringing students out for an education-focused Birdathon.