Birdathon 2026 announcements
It’s late February in Paradise: the snowbanks AND the cabin fever have both piled up. Last week, FOWP had a little get-together that provided a delightful deviation from the usual seasonal routines of shoveling porches and restocking the birdfeeders so the Pine Grosbeaks keep bringing color to winter’s monochrome.
Our anticipation for this gathering was not JUST to escape the winter ruts that we’re (sometimes literally) stuck in: it was mostly because we were so incredibly eager to see the submissions from our first-ever birdathon logo contest. We’d been good and waited until the registration closed to look at the submissions, even though we’d all been tempted to peek beforehand…
You guys absolutely wowed us. Thank you. That night, it felt like we were treated to our own personal art gallery – one featuring so many aspects of the spring migration at Whitefish Point that has captured our hearts. We loved the submissions both individually AND as a collection that feels so representative of the diversity of ways in which Whitefish Point is special to birds and birders alike.
Deciding was really hard for us and required much deliberation – in fact, we had to sleep on it and make the final call the next day, because the submissions were so good! We are deeply touched, and so grateful, for your thought, effort, time, and creativity with these designs.
Winner: Thomas W. Ford lives in Traverse City where he works at Four Season Nursery. The nursery specializes in selling Michigan native plants.
Tom studied art and biology at Central Michigan University. His favorite mediums include watercolors and black ink. He uses 260# cold pressed Arches watercolor paper. His illustrations capture the beauty of flora and fauna in the Northwoods and his work focuses on native plants and the ecosystems they support. Tom's first trip north to witness spring migration at Whitefish Point was early May of 1977. Whitefish Point memories are often inspiration for a new piece of artwork.
Honorable Mention: Grace Koopman from Nunica, MI.
“I have deep roots in the Whitefish Point area that have been there since I was 12 years old. I love to paint anything in nature because it brings me closer to it, with a new perspective.”
Honorable Mention: Marissa Begnoche from Petoskey, MI.
"I am part of a large family that has been living and vacationing in Whitefish Point for 4 generations; as a landscape artist my work is strongly tied to places that are meaningful to me and as a result I have done many paintings focused on Whitefish Point, Paradise, and Lake Superior as a way to celebrate my connection with the region. As a primarily watercolor and acrylic artist, this sandhill crane illustration was a very fun exercise in digital art that allowed me to feature my favorite bird while experimenting with the texture of colored pencil illustration." You can visit Marissa’s website here and she will be at the Paradise Blueberry Festival this summer.
Honorable Mention: Killian Sullivan from Gahanna, OH.
Killian is a 14 year old birder from Columbus, Ohio. He has seen 732 species in the US and was ABA’s Young Birder of the Year in 2025. He created this logo to highlight Whitefish Point and its White-winged Crossbills, which according to eBird are his highest percentage target species to still add to his growing life list.
Honorable Mention: Kate Pratt from Ludington, MI.
“This graphic rendering of Ardea Herodias was inspired by the many herons and birds I have observed while spending time at our family cabin in Whitefish Point. My art process focuses on translating those personal wildlife encounters into detailed, stylized illustrations that reflect the calm beauty and significance of this special place.” Her work can be found online here.
Honorable Mention: Bridgette Baker from Farmington, MI.
Birdathon Registration is live! Join us on the weekend of May 15-17, 2026: www.friendsofwp.org/birdathon
It’s crazy to think about spring migration as we write this during a winter storm warning. However, Birdathon is less than three months away! We’ve got a date and time (May 15-17), a design (which we’re already imagining on shirts!), and a speaker (Kyan Russell, artist and birder from Monterey, California, who will be sharing his experience of counting nesting albatross on a remote Pacific Ocean atoll). We’re excited for a fun weekend of celebrating migration while raising money to support FOWP’s continued work with owl research. Hope to see you there!
Visit the link above or click here to learn more about all of the events and activities during Birdathon weekend, and/or to purchase a shirt with Tom Ford’s artwork on it!
New this year- Gray Hooded Long Sleeve T-shirt!