The Virginia 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. Registration is open Feb. 12 – April 10, 2025.
Choose to participate in either The Cardinal Cup—the Virginia Birding Classic’s preeminent category of competition in which teams of 2–6 scour the Commonwealth’s many public lands to find as many species as possible in 24 consecutive hours—or The Big Sit—a tailgate party for birders in which teams of as many members as you’d like choose a circle 30-feet in diameter within the boundaries of one of Virginia’s many public lands and record how many bird species your team can identify in 24 consecutive hours from within the circle.
How does it work?
Pick a team name and register online: Register your team by April 10, 2025. Youth under 16 years old can register for free but must be accompanied by a registered adult.
Pick when your team goes birding: Your team chooses 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.
Share your team’s results: Your team submits one official team eBird trip report for their tournament day to Virginia eBird. Final eBird trip reports must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on May 17, 2025.
Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources