Editing Birdwatching (section)

===Competition===
[[File:Birders at Caerlaverock.jpg|thumb|250px|Birdwatchers watching Britain's fifth-ever [[white-tailed lapwing]] at [[WWT Caerlaverock|Caerlaverock]], [[Scotland]], 6 June 2007]]
Birding as a competitive event is organized in some parts of the world.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Kenneth |last=Sheard|year=1999|title=A Twitch in Time Saves Nine: Birdwatching, Sport, and Civilizing Processes
|journal=Sociology of Sport Journal|volume=16|issue=3|pages =181–205|url=http://www.humankinetics.com/ssj/viewarticle.cfm?jid=7Yf4apK83Mj7z6Um3Fg4xQbt3Bx3tWt33Rw4a&view=art&aid=1702|doi=10.1123/ssj.16.3.181}}</ref> Such competitions encourage individuals or teams to accumulate large numbers of species within a specified time or area with special rules. Some birdwatchers will also compete by attempting to increase their life list, national list, state list, provincial list, county list, or [[big year|year list]]. The [[American Birding Association]] was originally started as a club for "listers", but it now serves a much broader audience. Still, the ABA continues to publish an official annual report of North American list standings.

Competitive birdwatching events include:
*Big Day: teams have 24 hours to identify as many species as possible.
*[[Big year|Big Year]]: like a big day, but contestants are individuals, and need to be prepared to invest a great deal of time and money.
*Big Sit or Big Stay: birdwatchers must see birds from a circle of prescribed diameter (e.g.: 17 feet<ref>Dunne, P. (2007). Big Day Big Stay. Birder's World, 21(5), 18–21.</ref>). Once birds are spotted, birdwatchers can leave the circle to confirm the identity, but new birds seen may not be counted.
*[[Christmas Bird Count]]: See as many birds as possible between December 14 and January 5.
*[[World Series of Birding]]: An annual birding competition organised by the New Jersey Audubon Society. Teams compete to identify the greatest number of bird species in a 24-hour period.
*[[Migration Madness]]: A month-long festival celebrating bird migration. Migration Madness features a Birdathon. The Birdathon is a competition at any time during May 2024. The goal is to spot as many bird species as you can.