of Great Gull Island © Melinda Billings
The Linnaean Society of New York has supported the important tern conservation work of the Great Gull Island Project since the 1960s. Today, Great Gull Island hosts in the largest nesting colony of Common Terns in the world and the largest nesting colony of Roseate Terns in the western hemisphere. To ensure the continued success of their work, the Linnaean Society raises funds for the Great Gull Island Project every spring with a Birdathon.
The 2024 Great Gull Island Project Birdathon is May 11-12, 2024. This is a fun way to solicit contributions while enjoying a great day of birding. Talk to your friends about forming a team, and start mapping out your strategy. You can also bird solo to challenge yourself to surpass your personal record for the most species seen in a day or a weekend.
Here’s how it works:
1. Sign up using this form and tell us if you will be birding solo or with a team.
2. Ask your friends, family, colleagues, and fellow birders to pledge a dollar amount per species that you or your team sees. Download this sponsorship form to list your sponsors and their pledges.
3. Soon after the Birdathon,
a) let all your sponsors know how many birds you saw.
b) collect the money and send to the address below.
Helen Hays
Great Gull Island Project
Ornithology
American Museum of Natural History (AMNH)
200 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024
4. If your sponsors would like a receipt from AMNH for tax purposes, they must write a check and provide their mailing address. Donations must be received by June 15.
5. Send us your sponsorship form so we know which solo birder/team to credit with the contributions.
Even if you can’t go birding on May 11-12, you can still support the Great Gull Island Project by being a sponsor. The list of teams and solo birders is below. Select a team, then fill out this form to let us know who you are supporting.
2024 Birdathon Participants (list in formation)
1. The Scarlet Tanagers — Debbie Becker and friends
2. The Wandering Warbler — Alan Drogin, Yoming Lin, Debbie Mullins, and Miriam Rakowski
3. The Gnoble Gnatcatchers-Dawn Hannay, Kevin Sisco, Junko Suzuki, and Janet Wooten
4. The Saturday Slow Birders-Chuck McAlexander and friends
5. Amanda Bielskas
Thank you for your support!