Become a Member

Find a bird. Take its photo.
​Let's see how many species we can capture together in 1 day!

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​Since 2020, Bay Area birders have banded together each spring and fall to photograph as many birds as possible for the Bird Photo Big Day. The goal is to collectively capture photos of as many species as possible in one day, all as ONE distributed team! Join the fun on April 30, 2022!
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Head over to Facebook and join the group; that's where all the action takes place. Don't want to take photos but still want to participate? You can join in on the fun, too! We need folks to watch the number of photos grow during the day, identify bird species, and let the birders in the field know what bird species we are missing! If you aren't on Facebook, email your pictures to slao@sfbbo.org and we will post them for you.  (see rules at bottom of page)
April 30, 2022  
​Photo Contest Categories:
  • Best Colors
  • Best Bird In Flight
  • Most Extraordinary, Ordinary Bird
  • Funniest Photo
  • Best Action Shot
This is also a fundraiser for SFBBO, so we invite people to make a generous donation to help SFBBO continue to conserve birds and habitats through science and outreach. You can also pledge per species. Just let us know how much you want to pledge via the donation page, and then come back at the end of the day when we have the species tallied and donate. In honor of our 40th Anniversary this year, donations of $75 or more are eligible to receive our 40th Anniversary Cap (photo at right). The estimated value of the cap ($15) is not tax deductible.  

​All levels of birders and photographers are welcome! There are no bad pictures, especially of a species that we need to add to the count. You may be the only one to get a photo of a certain bird species that day! Once all the photos are uploaded, the organizers will tally the species and judges will pick a winner in each category. The final species count and the photo contest winners will be announced Sunday, May 1, 2022, on the Facebook group and via email.
Thank you to SFBBO docents Bill Pelletier and Kitty O'Neil for organizing these events! Bill and Kitty met at a bird walk in 2016, began teaching advanced birding classes together, and have since gotten married. They are field trip leaders for SFBBO, the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, and Santa Clara Open Space Authority and their goal is to blend a wide variety of birding skills in a light-hearted and fun approach to birding. Hear what Bill and Kitty say about supporting SFBBO's bird conservation efforts!​​
Rules:
  • Free to participate, but this is also a fundraiser to support our bird conservation science and outreach programs, so donations of all levels are welcome and appreciated. Donations of $75 or more are eligible to receive our 40th Anniversary Cap (the estimated $15 value of the cap is not tax deducible).
  • Birds first! Please practice mindful birding and avoid using audio playback.
  • Birds must be living in the wild and unrestrained.
  • Only photos taken in the 24 hours from midnight to 11:59pm on April 30, 2022, will count.
  • Photos must be uploaded to the Bird Photo Big Day Facebook Group or emailed to slao@sfbbo.org to be included in the count by noon the next the day. Please include the species name if you know it and the location where the photo was taken.
  • Participants can also compete in the photo contest. One submission per contest category (no limit for photos for the species count) - please indicate which category you are submitting for.
  • Submission of images grants SFBBO rights to use the photographs.*
  • Birds must be photographed in these San Francisco Bay Area counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, and Sonoma.
  • Follow local laws and rules, including COVID-19 regulations, and please respect property rights.​​
* A nonexclusive, worldwide, perpetual, fully-paid, royalty-free license to use the photographs in any manner related to the contest or its conservation work (i.e. for its websites, newsletters, social media, and other publications.)  Consider this another wonderful way to make a donation to SFBBO! 

Bird Photo Big Day Highlights & Upcoming Events

May 16, 2020: Inaugural Event
Species Count: 170
​Check out this summary of our first ever Bird Photo Big Day!
Sep 26, 2020: Strike a Pose
Apr 10, 2021: Shoot the rainbow
Sep 18, 2021: A Day in the life
Species Count: 168
Notable Rarities: Grace's Warbler (photographed by Bob Toleno), Lesser Sand-plover (photographed by Barry & Ginger Langdon-Lassagne), Northern Waterthrush (photographed by Susan Weinstein), Blackburnian Warbler (photographed by Sreedhara Alavattam​)

From Kitty & Bill: Thank you for joining us and your fellow bird enthusiasts for the Bird Photo Big Day on September 18, 2021! Together we grew the Facebook Team to 239 members and photographed an amazing 168 species in 24 hours! Over 700 photos were submitted to our Facebook group, and we raised over $4,000 for bird conservation and habitat restoration. Well done team! You all put the FUN in fundraiser!

Winning Photos:
Apr 30, 2022: Spring into Action!
Species Count: 171 - a new record!
Notable Rarity: A probable Gray Flycatcher photographed by Erika Fleniken at Ulistac Natural Area in Santa Clara!

From Kitty & Bill: Wow! Our fifth Bird Photo Big Day was such a big success! We grew the Facebook group to 316 members. And when the Big Day arrived, you all sprang into action and photographed 171 different species all in one day! Thank you to every one of you that went out there and took photos, helped with IDs, cheered us on, and especially those of you who donated. You are the reason that this event was so successful.

Winning Photos:
Header photo credit: Barbara Coll
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory ● 524 Valley Way, Milpitas, CA 95035 ● 408-946-6548 ● outreach@sfbbo.org