Record Breaking Participation During 29th Great Birding Classic
Aug. 13, 2025
Media Contact: TPWD News, Business Hours, 512-389-8030
AUSTIN — The Great Texas Birding Classic (GTBC), the biggest, longest and wildest birdwatching tournament in the country, celebrated its 29th year and hosted a record number of 226 teams with 1,315 participants statewide.
The Birding Classic tournament awarded $60,000 in conservation grants through team registrations and sponsorships, totaling more than $1.2 million over the last 29 years for on-the-ground conservation work to acquire, restore and enhance native Texas wildlife habitats.
“It’s wonderful seeing families and friends return each year – the Birding Classic has become an annual spring tradition for so many people,” said Shelly Plante, Birding Classic Tournament coordinator. “I love that it gives people who love the outdoors an opportunity to support conservation projects all over the state while taking part in one of their favorite activities. It’s a win-win! We have some fun things planned for next year’s 30th annual event, and I can’t wait to see what people think.”
The tournament set several new participation records this year including 91 Big Sit teams, 49 adult regional Big Day teams and 40 Sunrise to Noon teams.
“We are totally amateurs but just love the outdoors and the birds and love supporting the effort,” said John Eaves, a member of Statewide Big Day team, the Crotchety Crows.
Participants saw a total of 425 bird species during the tournament, including 37 species of shorebirds, 21 species of hawks, six species of hummingbirds, 41 species of warblers and 11 species of vireos, just to name a few.
“The boys absolutely loved the whole experience and are already making plans for next year,” said Misty Ferguson, mom of Roughwings youth team Bun Brothers Bird Lovers from the Heart of Texas East. “They have caught the birding bug in earnest.”
Each year the winning Birding Classic teams get to select which projects to fund, and as the tournament continues to grow, more funds are raised which are then donated to habitat conservation projects in Texas.
“One of the great things about birding is the people you meet along the trail,” said Bill Baker, member of Weeklong team Two Chicks & a Chat (sponsored by Dickinson Bayou Fleeting). “I am truly blessed to be part of the Great Texas Birding Classic. I continue to visit sites that have received GTBC funding and they only seem to get better and better. What an amazing influence the GTBC has had on small grant projects over the last 29 years. Quite a legacy indeed!”
This event is made possible by sponsorship and registration fees, donations from event sponsors Toyota, Texas Ornithological Society, and awards ceremony sponsor, Audubon Texas.
This year, conservation grants were awarded to:
$21,000 Combined Conservation Grants
Weeklong Conservation Grant ($20,000) – Selected by Two Chicks & A Chat, sponsored by Dickinson Bayou Fleeting
Upper Texas Coast Big Sit! Roadrunner Plate Conservation Grant ($1,000) – Selected by CenterPoint Wirebirds, sponsored by CenterPoint Energy
Project: Turtle Bayou Nature Preserve Birder Enhancement Project – submitted by the Galveston Bay Foundation
Project Location: Wallisville, Chambers County
$10,000 Central Texas Coast Big Day Conservation Grant – Selected by HRIbises, sponsored by Harte Research Institute
Project: The 10th Addition to the Coastal Heritage Preserve through a fourth Acquisition at Middle Track, Galveston Island — submitted by The Artist Boat, Inc.
Project Location: Galveston, Galveston County
$10,000 Heart of Texas East Big Day Conservation Grant – Selected by Cemetery Birders
Project: Circle Acres Nature Preserve Wetland Viewing Platform – submitted by Ecology Action of Texas
Project Location: Austin, Travis County
$5,000 Lone Star Bird Award Conservation Grant – Selected by Groovy Goose Group
Project: GCBO Board Walk Replacement – submitted by Gulf Coast Bird Observatory
Project Location: Lake Jackson, Brazoria County
$5,000 Toyota State Park Conservation Grant – Selected by Laughable Gulls
Project: Water Feature(s) at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park – submitted by Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Project Location: Mission, Hidalgo County
$5,000 Upper Texas Coast Regional Big Day Conservation Grant – Selected by Free Falling Falcons
Project: Native Tree Planting at Exploration Green – submitted by Exploration Green Conservancy
Project Location: Houston, Harris County
$1,000 Heart of Texas East Big Sit! Roadrunner Plate Conservation Grant – Selected by Flying Squirrels
Project: Invasive Wisteria Removal and Habitat Restoration at Blair Woods Nature Preserve in East Austin – submitted Travis Audubon Society, Inc.
Project Location: Austin, Travis County
$1,000 Prairies and Pineywoods West Big Sit! Roadrunner Plate Conservation Grant – Selected by Lesser Mellowlegs
Project: Enhancing Stopover Resources for Migrating Snow and Ross’s Geese by Planting Winter Wheat at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge – submitted by Friends of Hagerman NWR
Project Location: Sherman, Grayson County
$1,000 Central Texas Coast Sunrise to Noon Conservation Grant – Selected by KINGbirds, Sponsored by King Ranch Visitor Center
Project: Packery Channel Oak Motte Sanctuary – submitted by Audubon Outdoor Club of Corpus Christi
Project Location: Corpus Christi, Nueces County
$1,000 Prairies and Pineywoods West Sunrise to Noon Conservation Grant – Selected by Family Flock
Project: Chimney Swift Tower for Exploration Green – submitted by Exploration Green Conservancy
Project Location: Houston, Harris County