The Yard Squad Challenge is an opportunity to explore your yard, neighborhood, or local patch, collaborate with other birders around the world, and compete for glory! If you're interested, follow the steps below to specify your birding area and sign up. You'll be placed in a Squad with birders from other areas, and for the 12-week duration of the Challenge (March 16 to June 7), you'll submit your sightings to eBird and share them with your Squad's group account. The scoring is simple: the Squad with the most species on its combined list will be recognized, as well as the Squad with the most "total ticks" (the sum of all members' lists). Winners will be announced for each of 3 stretches (March 16 to April 12, April 13 to May 10, May 11 to June 7) as well as a cumulative winner for the entire Challenge period.

This time, we'll also be awarding prizes in two sub-challenges:

• THE MEDIA MOGUL SUB-CHALLENGE: Prize goes to the squad who contributes media (photo, video, and/or audio) for the most species.
• THE ADOPT-A-SPOT SUB-CHALLENGE: A point will be given to each player for each species they add to the all-time list of a hotspot within their circle. Because the distribution of underbirded spots is very uneven and some players will have much more opportunity than others, points will be capped at 25 for each player. The squad with the most combined points wins the prize. Use the tools on the map below to help you strategize!

Begin by finding yourself on the map. Pan, zoom, and use the search bar (top left) and basemap selector (bottom left) to home in on your location. Then choose a radius of interest from the dropdown (5 miles is the maximum), and click on your location to view your circle and the eBird hotspots it contains. Hotspots are color-coded by the number of species that have been observed there (red being the most), and each hotspot can be clicked on to access more info. (If you like, check the Show Notable Sightings or Show Full List boxes to explore the birds reported within your circle recently.) When you're ready, hit the Confirm button to fill in the rest of your information.

Got questions? Show FAQ

• Are there any limits to where I can put my circle? No. Your circle can be anywhere in the world, and technically, it doesn't have to include your home. However, it should be an area you can commit to birding regularly. For areas where non-essential travel is restricted (or just for the sake of being environmentally friendly), you may wish to choose a circle that is fully walkable from your house.
• How should I choose my radius? The best approach is to choose the smallest possible circle that you think you can regularly bird. If you choose a 5-mile circle "just in case" you're able to make it to those more distant spots, the sorting process may overestimate your predicted species and this may disadvantage your squad!
• What if an eBird hotspot is outside my circle, but the area it represents (a large park, for example) partially overlaps my circle? The coordinates of each checklist you submit must fall within your circle in order to count toward the Challenge. Therefore, if you intend to use the general hotspot for a large park, make sure that hotspot itself is inside your boundary. (The tools on the map should make this easy.) The flip side of this is that even if some of the birds you see in that park are technically outside your circle, if you report them from that hotspot, they will count.
• Do I have to commit to one circle for the duration of the Challenge? Yes. If you'll be moving or vacationing during the Challenge, please take that into account when deciding whether you can contribute and how best to do so.
• How will I keep in touch with my Squad? Once the Squad rosters are finalized, each Squad will receive a group email with further information and instructions - including a list of members and the name of the group eBird account with which you'll share your lists. Each Squad will also be assigned a Captain (you'll have the option of nominating yourself for this), who will have two main responsibilities: facilitating group communication, and choosing a name for the Squad. You may decide to start a Facebook group chat, for example. (Although talking with your Squadmates is in no way required for the Challenge, it's a lot more fun if you do!)
• How are the Squads chosen? We will generate a list of "predicted species" for each circle, based on historic eBird data. Using those lists, we'll distribute the players in such a way as to make the Squads as even as possible. Geographic diversity within a Squad will be prioritized when possible. Also, if you've played the Challenge before and would prefer to remain with your previous Squadmates, you'll be given the option to specify that. However, we won't make any promises about keeping players together!
• Will my location be private? All players' circles will be visible on the Challenge map, so keep that in mind if you don't want your exact location to be known. (Since eBird data is public, hiding Challenge locations would serve little purpose.)
• Won't the lists I share with my Squad's account raise flags with my local eBird reviewer, or with anyone else? There's plenty of precedent for the use of group eBird accounts, and so far the Challenge has not caused any issues. Lists owned by group accounts will be hidden from eBird's Recent Visits listings, Top 100 lists, and alerts. If you experience an issue or have any concerns about this, please contact us!
• What about NFCs (nocturnal flight calls)? If I have a recording station set up, will those observations be counted toward the Challenge? NFC observations are allowed as long as they are heard live and in person (although recording equipment, audio software, etc. may be used to assist in monitoring and identification). This rule aligns with eBird's NFC recommendations, which state that "if you are not listening live (i.e., recording NFCs from a remote location or while sleeping)," you should set up a separate account for reporting your observations. Checklists submitted from dedicated NFC accounts will not be counted toward the Challenge.
• What if I have more questions? Just drop us a line - either by email at matt at fantasybirding dot com, or by joining the Fantasy Birding Support Group on Facebook.