BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 METHOD:PUBLISH CALSCALE:GREGORIAN PRODID:-//WordPress - MECv7.36.4//EN X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://naturefriendmagazine.com/ X-WR-CALNAME:Nature Friend Magazine X-WR-CALDESC:Helping families explore the wonders of God's creation X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20260308T030000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=03;BYDAY=2SU END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20261101T010000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11;BYDAY=1SU END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H X-MS-OLK-FORCEINSPECTOROPEN:TRUE BEGIN:VEVENT CLASS:PUBLIC UID:MEC-0e39ee35eca2974ffae227c15379156a@naturefriendmagazine.com DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260501T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260716T000000 DTSTAMP:20260501T000000Z CREATED:20260501 LAST-MODIFIED:20260430 PRIORITY:5 SEQUENCE:3 TRANSP:OPAQUE SUMMARY:Birding w/ Friends DESCRIPTION:\nAmerican Bittern. Photo © Kevin Shank.\n\n\n\nFive years ago, Aden Troyer (our Birders’ Trail writer at the time) suggested this contest. We did it then, and a lot of our readers responded enthusiastically. Let’s do it again.Our goals for this contest are several:\n\n\n\n\nHave an enjoyable time with friends.\n\n\n\nDesignate a circle that is large enough you can have a picnic, take shelter under a roof in case it rains, and even camp for the night if you wish. After all, spending the night outdoors might enable you to pick up some owl calls for your list. Maybe you want your circle to reach inside your picture window so you can add species you see while inside your home. That is fine too.\n\n\n\nBe flexible enough that your circle can be at home, at a friend’s place, or anywhere else you choose it to be. Maybe you want to combine this with a camping trip to a fun location. If so, enjoy!\n\n\n\n\nAnd the fun doesn’t stop there. We are planning for some awards. Just what they will be and how many are going to be a surprise. Any award will go to the person or family who made the winning submission.\n\n\n\nThe Rules\n\n\n\n\nWho may make contest submissions: Families with an active subscription to Nature Friend. You are welcome to invite friends to join your search inside of YOUR circle even if they are not active subscribers.\n\n\n\nWhen: Choose one 24-hour period between May 1 and June 30, 2026.\n\n\n\nWhere: Choose a spot, and mark off a circle that is 200 feet in diameter.\n\n\n\nCount the species of birds which members of your group see or hear while within this circle. Birds can be outside circle.\n\n\n\nSend a story (and good photos, if you have them) of your experience and the list you compiled during your day to Nature Friend. Label with the names of those who participated, your subscriber number (found on the magazine mailing label), and your complete mailing address. A phone number is helpful. We want to receive the submission by July 15.\n\n\n\n\nSend submissions to Birding w/ Friends Contest4253 Woodcock LaneDayton, VA 22821orbirdcontest26@naturefriendmagazine.com1-540-947-1636$5 required if return is requested.\n\n\n\nvar gform;gform||(document.addEventListener("gform_main_scripts_loaded",function(){gform.scriptsLoaded=!0}),document.addEventListener("gform/theme/scripts_loaded",function(){gform.themeScriptsLoaded=!0}),window.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){gform.domLoaded=!0}),gform={domLoaded:!1,scriptsLoaded:!1,themeScriptsLoaded:!1,isFormEditor:()=>"function"==typeof InitializeEditor,callIfLoaded:function(o){return!(!gform.domLoaded||!gform.scriptsLoaded||!gform.themeScriptsLoaded&&!gform.isFormEditor()||(gform.isFormEditor()&&console.warn("The use of gform.initializeOnLoaded() is deprecated in the form editor context and will be removed in Gravity Forms 3.1."),o(),0))},initializeOnLoaded:function(o){gform.callIfLoaded(o)||(document.addEventListener("gform_main_scripts_loaded",()=>{gform.scriptsLoaded=!0,gform.callIfLoaded(o)}),document.addEventListener("gform/theme/scripts_loaded",()=>{gform.themeScriptsLoaded=!0,gform.callIfLoaded(o)}),window.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",()=>{gform.domLoaded=!0,gform.callIfLoaded(o)}))},hooks:{action:{},filter:{}},addAction:function(o,r,e,t){gform.addHook("action",o,r,e,t)},addFilter:function(o,r,e,t){gform.addHook("filter",o,r,e,t)},doAction:function(o){gform.doHook("action",o,arguments)},applyFilters:function(o){return gform.doHook("filter",o,arguments)},removeAction:function(o,r){gform.removeHook("action",o,r)},removeFilter:function(o,r,e){gform.removeHook("filter",o,r,e)},addHook:function(o,r,e,t,n){null==gform.hooks[o][r]&&(gform.hooks[o][r]=[]);var d=gform.hooks[o][r];null==n&&(n=r+"_"+d.length),gform.hooks[o][r].push({tag:n,callable:e,priority:t=null==t?10:t})},doHook:function(r,o,e){var t;if(e=Array.prototype.slice.call(e,1),null!=gform.hooks[r][o]&&((o=gform.hooks[r][o]).sort(function(o,r){return o.priority-r.priority}),o.forEach(function(o){"function"!=typeof(t=o.callable)&&(t=window[t]),"action"==r?t.apply(null,e):e[0]=t.apply(null,e)})),"filter"==r)return e[0]},removeHook:function(o,r,t,n){var e;null!=gform.hooks[o][r]&&(e=(e=gform.hooks[o][r]).filter(function(o,r,e){return!!(null!=n&&n!=o.tag||null!=t&&t!=o.priority)}),gform.hooks[o][r]=e)}});\n\n\n \n \n Birding w/ Friends\n \n \n Name(Required)\n \n \n \n First\n \n \n \n \n Last\n \n \n Subscriber Number(Required)Your subscriber number is above your name on the mailing label on your magazine, or on your email receipt. (We recognize foreign address mailing labels sometimes do not show the subscriber number. Submit anyway.) Not a subscriber? Subscribe now! ( https://naturefriendmagazine.com/subscribe/ )Email(Required)\n \n Phone numberAddress(Required) \n \n \n \n Street Address\n \n \n Address Line 2\n \n \n City\n \n \n State / Province / Region\n \n \n ZIP / Postal Code\n \n AfghanistanÅland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCabo VerdeCambodiaCameroonCanadaCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo, Democratic Republic of theCook IslandsCosta RicaCôte d'IvoireCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzechiaDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFalkland IslandsFaroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and McDonald IslandsHoly SeeHondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKorea, Democratic People's Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People's Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorth MacedoniaNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestine, State ofPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarRéunionRomaniaRussian FederationRwandaSaint BarthélemySaint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint MartinSaint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint MaartenSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwedenSwitzerlandSyria Arab RepublicTaiwanTajikistanTanzania, the United Republic ofThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTürkiyeTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayUS Minor Outlying IslandsUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuelaViet NamVirgin Islands, BritishVirgin Islands, U.S.Wallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabwe\n Country\n \n \n List all participants below:List all the bird species you saw or heard:(Required)Submit a story of your day.Accepted file types: doc, docx, txt, pdf, xls, xlsx, Max. file size: 256 MB. You are invited to upload large resolution jpeg photos of your day.\n \n Drop files here or \n Select files\n \n Accepted file types: jpg, Max. file size: 256 MB, Max. files: 30. \n Submit \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n URL:https://naturefriendmagazine.com/events/birding-w-friends/ CATEGORIES:Contest ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://naturefriendmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/American-Bittern-KDS-CI2D5751-www.jpg END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR