2025 Virginia Birding Classic

2nd Annual Virginia Birding Classic
April 15 – May 15, 2025
Registration open February 12 – April 10, 2025

The 2nd Annual Virginia Birding Classic will be held April 15 – May 15, 2025. The Birding Classic is a statewide birding competition in which teams of birders search the public lands of Virginia every spring for as many species as they can find in 24 hours.

All registration proceeds will benefit the Virginia Wildlife Grant Program, which awards annual grants to non-profit programs focused on connecting youth to the outdoors.

Birders can choose to participate in either:

• The Cardinal Cup – a category of competition in which teams of 2–6 scour public lands in Virginia to find as many species as possible in 24 consecutive hours
• The Big Sit – an event for birders in which teams of members choose a circle 30-feet in diameter within the boundaries of one of Virginia’s many public lands and record how many bird species the team can identify in 24 consecutive hours from within the circle

Teams must register by April 10, 2025. Youth under 16 years old can register for free but must be accompanied by a registered adult.

Team choose a consecutive 24-hour period between April 15 and May 15 to go birding on federal, state, county, and municipal parks in the Commonwealth to identify as many species of birds as possible.

Each team must submit one official team eBird trip report for their tournament day to Virginia eBird. Final eBird trip reports must be submitted by 11:59 PM on May 17, 2025.

source: Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources