NatureBoost Episode 75: Birding Challenge
April 2026
SMA
[Birds chirping.]
[Intro music ♫]
>> Hey there, and welcome back to NatureBoost! The podcast where we explore the outdoors in Missouri, one adventure at a time. I'm Jill Pritchard with the Missouri Department of Conservation. Birds!
[Birds chirping.]
Need I say more? I can . . . and I will! If you're in your 20s or 30s and still haven't discovered the absolute joy and wonder of birds, I invite you to come along on this journey with me. Shhh . . . everything is okay! In fact, everything is about to get a lot better.
[Music ♪]
If you've listened to NatureBoost before, you know we've talked about birding numerous times. And, we're going to talk about it again, because birds are one of the easiest ways to connect with nature. "Jill, what else do you have to say about birds? You've had so many episodes on the topic already." I have everything to say about birds! And also, I have something really cool to tell you, that you may be interested in trying out, and it's probably a lot easier and more fun than that marathon you're thinking about signing up for. It's called the Missouri Birding Challenge!
[Birds chirping, music ♪]
To learn more about this special competition, I brought back an old colleague and birding buddy, ornithologist Sarah Kendrick. After four long years, Sarah and I reunited to bird at Three Creeks Conservation Area outside of Columbia. And yes, we were wearing the exact same outfit!
>> We're dressed exactly alike!
>> It's just amazing, isn't it?
>> I think it is!
>> I mean, it's wild! Who even owns pants this color? [Laughing.] I just think it's so funny.
>> I thrifted this hat. And look, it has a . . .
>> Neck flap.
>> Yeah, for the sun.
>> There's a chickadee behind us.
[2:00.]
[unclear.] [Whistling.] [Bird whistling.]
The Birding Challenge is a way to familiarize yourself with birding through a series of different categories you can register for. From very beginner . . . to more expert, to help you get into the sport or hobby of birding. And, to learn more about birds. Really, our goals with The Birding Challenge were to get new people involved in birding, people who have never birded before, or who want to try it out. We were just hoping that this challenge gave them a fun way to start doing it.
>> Now I'm not an expert birder, but I will say my bird ID has improved immensely over the past few years. Just listen to what I recently ID'd in my backyard!
[Birds chirping.]
Carolina wren.
[Birds chirping, dog barking.]
The neighbor's dog.
[Dog barking.] [Machine humming.]
The lawn mower.
>> These ears may tune out when they heard the words "stock market", but they tune in when they hear the sweet vocalizations of backyard songbirds. So, the thought of participating in The Birding Challenge intrigued me. Could I, Jill Pritchard, be a contender? I don't know, maybe. Birders are pretty competitive, and I did show up to this interview wearing a children's sun hat and carrying my parent's 40 year-old Nikon binoculars. But the good news is there are different ways to participate. You compete by spotting and identifying as many bird species as possible from May 1st through the 22nd. And based on what kind of birder you are, there's a category for you, each with its own pace, style and level of competition.
>> When you register for The Birding Challenge, you can sign up for up to 3 categories. There are 5 categories in total. The first one is a fledgling category, and it's for kids.
[4:01.]
It's for young people aged 0 to 16. You need a mentor on the fledgling team with the children, that's 16 years of age or older. But the mentor needs to sign up on E-bird and submit the bird checklist on E-bird. Then there's a backyard birder category, and you submit all of your E-bird checklists of all the birds that you've seen just from your backyard.
>> Just from your backyard?
>> Correct. So it's an easy point of entry, because you never have to leave your house. You can just walk around your property, or around your backyard, look out your window, look at your bird feeder . . . log the birds you see, and submit them.
>> You can be an agoraphobic, and still do this challenge.
>> You could! Birding is for everyone. Next, there's a category called "dabbler", which is a set number of E-bird checklists that you have to submit, but you can go anywhere in the state.
>> Those are ducks, right? Dabbling ducks?
>> Dabbling ducks are ducks that don't dive down deep to eat. They just tip upside down, and forage in shallow water. Yes, they're called dabblers, but they're also dabbling in birdwatching. So we made the name, "dabbler."
The next category is competitive coot. This is the category for people who are competitive birders, and they want to see as many species as they can in the 3 week period of the birding challenge. So you submit as many E-bird checklists as you can, and you try and see lots of species. The last category is new for this year, and it's called "the big day." A "big day" in birding circles is when you try to see as many species of birds as you can in a 24 hour period. Some birders do a big year, but a big day, you're trying to see as many as you can in one day. We decided to piggyback on top of World Migratory Bird Day, which is on May 9th. So if people register for the big day category, they have to go out on the 24 hour period of May 9th and try to log as many birds as they can. Or, just log whatever birds you want.
If you register for any of these categories, your name is put into a hat for a drawing.
[6:02.]
So the point of The Birding Challenge is not to see the most number of species. We're trying not to make the birding challenge competitive across all categories. We want it to be a welcoming and fun challenge to start off birding, and to get oriented to the hobby, and get involved in it, and love it. So, everybody in all the categories are eligible to be drawn for a prize.
[Music ♪]
>> As Sarah Kendrick likes to say, birds are awesome. And as PBS icon Bill Nye has reminded generations of us, "science rules!" And, the Missouri Birding Challenge is kind of where those two ideas meet. Because yes, you're outside spotting birds, maybe getting competitive. But you're also contributing to something bigger. The birds you identify, the lists you keep, the observations you make, they all help paint a clear picture of what's happening across Missouri's landscapes. When you bird . . . you nerd!
>> So with the birding challenge, there is a registration fee. It's $15 per person, or $10 per youth team. So if you're on a youth team in the fledgling category, it's just $10 for the whole group of people. But everybody else, it's $15 per participant. And yes, the money is collected by the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation, a great partner who helps us do things like that. They pool these funds, and we give it to a conservation effort or project or research project of the choice of the birding challenge planning committee.
>> And then, all of this is logged through E-bird?
>> Correct. Yes, E-bird is an online database of birder sightings. When you go out and bird, you can use the app on your phone, or you can just keep a paper checklist and upload it later on the E-bird.org website. But it has become a global phenomenon of people logging their bird sightings.
It took them about 8 or 9 years of E-bird being around to reach 1 billion bird records.
[8:05.]
And within about 3 years later, they reached 2 billion bird records. It's in many, many different countries across the globe, and people are logging bird sightings everywhere. So because there's so much data across the world, it really helps them out to model bird populations and help inform science and trends of how bird populations are doing globally. It's really amazing.
So, E-bird is a very accessible and easy way to log your bird sightings. The app is really easy to download. We have how-to documents, and I made a how-to video on how to do all things E-bird for the challenge. That's all on The Birding Challenge website.
[Music ♪]
>> I love that The Birding Challenge happens in the spring. Spring migration!
>> [unclear.]
>> Spring mi-gra-tion! [Cheering.] Coming! [Laughing.]
>> Yes. [Laughing.] It's during migration on purpose. The first few weeks of May are a hot time of year for lots of migrants moving through, who breed north of us in the boreal forest or beyond. There's lots of birds moving through, birds arriving that breed here. So, there's just lots of birds moving all over the place. There's lots of opportunities to see species that you don't see in the winter, just the summer. Ones that pass through.
>> Missouri is a big stop over.
>> It is. The Ozarks helps. There's thousands of acres of mature forest and woodland for them to hangout in, and forage and stop over during migration to refuel, to continue the journey north.
[Birds chirping.]
>> So maybe you're listening to this and thinking "yeah, cool. . . . but I wouldn't even know where to start." And I won't lie, that is fair. There's a lot of birds out there, and it can feel intimidating. Especially because a majority of the time, you hear birds before you spot them.
[10:01.]
So . . . to help you along the way, we here at NatureBoost have put together a list of common Missouri birds and their calls to guide you on your birding journey. Let's begin.
[Birds chirping.]
Northern cardinal.
[Bird calling.]
American robin.
[Bird calling.]
You're likely to hear robins calling early in the morning, incessantly, at like 5:00am.
[Bird calling.]
Northern mockingbird.
[Bird calling.]
Tufted titmouse.
[Bird calling.]
Blue jay.
[Bird calling.]
Eastern bluebird.
[Bird calling.]
Carolina chickadee.
[Bird calling.]
Red-bellied woodpecker.
[Bird calling.]
House finch.
[Bird calling.]
American crow.
[Bird calling.]
Common grackle.
[Bird calling.]
And, red-tailed hawk.
[Hawk screeching.]
I bet a lot of these names and calls sounded pretty familiar, huh? That's because birds are such a staple in the landscape, and they contribute to an almost soundtrack to our everyday lives. And, we recognize their songs and calls. We even know that the cardinal is the bright red bird, and that hawks are typically a lot bigger.
The cool thing is, all of us are already birders. We just don't know it yet!
[Music ♪]
So whether you're planning to register for this year's Birding Challenge, or you want to develop on what you already know, because you're already a birder, remember . . . let's set you up for success with a few tips. First, consider the time of day. Sarah says mornings are prime time for birding, especially as we head into spring and summer.
[12:03.]
Birds are more active in the morning because they don't like to be hot. Their morning calls are called "dawn song", but night time can also be the right time, because the nocturnal birds come out, like owls, night hawks, and those whippoorwills. So, different times of day will bring different species.
Second, practice with the birds already in your neighborhood. Get to know their shape and sound, what they eat, are they in your yard year round like the American robin . . . or only in certain seasons like a ruby-throated hummingbird? Do you see certain birds more often in the morning, mid day, or evening? And finally, don't overthink it. Step outside, stay curious, and see what you notice. Because, the more time we spend in nature, the more likely we are to protect it.
>> A lot of people are very uncomfortable in the outdoors. It brings me such a sense of peace to be outside. I love it. I feel fully myself when I'm in nature. But, a lot of people don't have that experience. That's why it's important, I think, for The Birding Challenge and a lot of what the Conservation Department does with education and trying to get people into nature and understand it more, and spend more time in it. It's so important. People take care of what they love, and what they care about. I think as a society, we're getting farther away from that. But I think we need it now more than ever.
[Birds chirping.]
>> Okay, it's early April and. . . . registration is now open. Challenge, categories and registration, okay . . . fledgling is for youth. Backyard birder . . . I have to identify at least 15 different species from your home. . . . that would be fairly simple for me, so . . . I think I'm going to level up a little bit to the dabbler category.
[14:00.]
This category is for beginner or intermediate birders. You have to observe at least 20 different bird species from any location in Missouri, but at least one of those locations must be on the Missouri Birding Trail. Alright. I'm going to do it! I'm going to register a dabbler team. Team name . . . [unclear.] "Quid pro crow." God, that is so good!
Billing, name . . . Sarah Kendrick.
[Music ♪]
And just like that, I guess I'm doing this! But you know, honestly, that's kind of the point I've been trying to make. Birding doesn't have to be a whole production. You don't need to be an expert. You don't need a plan, or months and months of training. All you need to do to start, is pay attention . . . and then once you do, it's hard to not notice more. The sounds, the movement, the different shapes and colors . . . and the fact that this all happens right in front of us every day. Seriously, look outside right now, and I bet you'll see a bird!
[Birds chirping.]
Sign up for the Missouri Birding Challenge now through April 30th. Learn more on our website at missouriconservation.org. We'll also list that link in the show notes.
I want to again thank U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Ornithologist Sarah Kendrick, thanks to digital media producer Peg Craft, and of course, thanks to you for listening to another episode of NatureBoost! And, be sure to check out next month's episode when we'll learn about the North American river otter, the only aquatic weasel that goes sledding on its stomach, and communicates through its poop. What an icon!
I'm Jill Pritchard with the Missouri Department of Conservation, encouraging you to get your daily dose of the outdoors!
[Outro music ♫]
>> Kakaw! [Imitating bird call.]
>> [Laughing.] That was beautiful. I don't know what to say to that.
>> Left you speechless.
>> You did!
[End of podcast.]