Mistle Thrush observed during the 2018 GBBC Photo: Peter Gadd
We know bird counts provide lots of memorable experiences. Funny, heartwarming, inspiring, or just plain unusual – we’d like to hear about them all.
We invite you to enter the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) story contest with your tale from the GBBC (this year’s, or a previous year’s). It’s easy – and all ages are welcome to submit. Just email us your 200-400 word story.
The contest is open from February 15 to March 1, 2019. Judges will select a prize winner to receive a Bird Studies Canada membership and a National Geographic field guide! The top story will be published on Bird Studies Canada’s website.
How to Enter
(1) Please read the Contest Rules and Terms of Use (below). By entering, you acknowledge that you agree to the Terms of Use.
(2) Write your story in 200-400 words, in English or French. It must be a true, original story that hasn’t been submitted elsewhere. It can be about the 2019 GBBC event, or a previous year’s.
(3) Email your story to communications@birdscanada.org by Friday, March 1, 2019.
(4) The stories will be judged, and the winner will be announced on Monday, March 11, 2019.
Official Rules for The Bird Studies Canada GBBC Story Contest
Eligible Entrants:
Entrants must have participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count in 2019, or in a previous year, to be eligible.
The contest is open to residents of Canada and the U.S. only.
There is no age restriction and no fee required to enter the contest.
By entering a story in the contest, the entrant acknowledges that they agree to the Terms of Use (please see below).
Eligible Stories:
One story may be submitted per entrant.
The story must be written by the entrant, and may not infringe the rights of any other individual.
The story must be 200-400 words in length.
The story must be written in either English or French.
The story must describe true events.
The story may not have been published or submitted for publication elsewhere.
The story must not describe actions that could be considered harmful or disturbing to birds.
Judging:
Stories will be judged by a team of staff at Bird Studies Canada. One prize winner and two honourable mentions will be selected.
Entrants are encouraged to submit eligible stories that meet the following criteria to improve their chance of winning:
Content is compelling to readers. (Examples: story tells of an unusual event, is entertaining, evokes emotion, promotes thought or reflection.)
Content provides insight into the experience of participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count and Citizen Science, or reflects the value of participating in these activities.
The story is written in a clear and engaging style.
Collection of Information:
Bird Studies Canada will use email addresses to contact the prize winner and honourable mentions. The prize winner will be required to provide a mailing address so that the prize can be shipped. Neither email addresses nor mailing addresses will be used by Bird Studies Canada for any purposes other than those required to administer this contest, as described above.
Promotion of the Contest:
While Bird Studies Canada is promoting this contest using Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, the contest is not sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Terms of Use
By submitting a story to the contest, the entrant acknowledges that they agree to the Terms of Use below.
The entrant grants Bird Studies Canada the right to edit the submitted story for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and style and to translate the story.
The entrant grants Bird Studies Canada the perpetual right to publish the submitted story, or excerpts from the submitted story, for any purpose whatsoever. Uses may include, but are not limited to, publishing the story or story excerpts in Bird Studies Canada print publications and on the web, and future promotion of the Great Backyard Bird Count.
Any use of the story will include the entrant’s name and acknowledge the entrant as the creator of the story.
By submitting a story, the entrant acknowledges that Bird Studies Canada bears no responsibility whatsoever for protecting the story from third party infringement of copyright interest or other intellectual property rights, and that Bird Studies Canada shall not be responsible for any losses suffered as a result of such infringement.
