DONATE HERE
How many species can you count in 24 hours?
Form a team, count, and raise money for conservation.
100% of funds raised support efforts to protect nature on the Carden Alvar - a rare and unique landscape and premier birding location.
Are you in?
Take part in the 23rd annual Carden Challenge - count species, raise money and protect nature. Read the info on the page to learn about the event.
Form a Team
Pick the category that best suits your team:
Competitive - for teams who can count more than ~100 bird species.
Biodiversity - for teams who want to count EVERYTHING! Birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies & dragonflies.
Recreational - for teams who like to count species, but want to do it at a more leisurely pace.
Hybrid - no maximum of team members, can split up to count. The point is to take part! Download Full rules here.
Where to?
Come out to the Carden Alvar OR stay in your own backyard / neighbourhood (stay within a 8 km radius).
Register!
Click the button above. We can't wait to see you birding on the Alvar!
Fundraise!
Every dollar raised matters. Funds raised helps us care for this landscape, empowers us to work towards protecting more Alvar and more. There is no minimum amount to fundraise.
Prizes
Last year's prizes included a weekend stay in an off-grid Cabinscapes rental, passes to Arcadia Earth Toronto, Cabela's outdoor gear, passes to Treetop Trekking, The Wye Marsh and Children's Heartworks Studio in Orillia & road trips in a box from Guess Where Trips?
Resources
Scroll to the bottom of this page for documents, species lists and other resources for studying.
Count!
On May 21 - 22, 2027 (6pm - 6pm), count as many species as you can & share your journey with us while spreading awareness of the critical need to protect nature. Your team can take part from home or on the Alvar.
Featured Species:
What is an Alvar?
In an area east of Orillia and northwest of Lindsay, a flat limestone landscape called the Carden Alvar harbours rare habitats. Alvars occur only on limestone bedrock with little or no soil, where spring floods and summer droughts create harsh conditions. Many of the wildflowers, native grasses and invertebrate species found on alvars normally occur in the western provinces, and many are rare. These habitats are globally imperiled, occurring only in the south of Sweden and scattered around the Great Lakes Basin. Carden Township’s alvars are thought to be among the richest in the province, with a great diversity of alvar species.
Mammals:
- Moose
- Red Fox
- Snowshoe Hare
- Otter
- Porcupine
Birds:
- Eastern Loggerhead Shrike
- Bobolink
- Eastern Meadowlark
- Black Tern
- Bald Eagle
Reptiles & Amphibians:
- Blanding's Turtle
- Eastern Milksnake
- Spotted Salamander
- Western Chorus Frog
- Wood Frog
Odes & Leps:
- Aurora Damsel
- Racket-tailed Emerald
- Canadian Tiger Swallowtail
- Monarch Butterfly
- Wild Indigo Duskywing
THANK YOU TO OUR PRIZE DONORS:
Four passes to an immersive journey through Planet Earth in Toronto, ON
Two night stay at a cabinscape
2026 HIGHLIGHTS
-
Total species - 190 (Birds – 156, Mammals - 15, Herps - 16, Lepidoptera - 3, Odonata – 0
-
NEW to list – Prothonotary Warbler
-
A number of species only counted by one team in Carden (some listed here): Red-breasted Merganser, Cooper’s Hawk, Northern Harrier, Bonaparte’s Gull, Peregrine Falcon, , Purple Martin, Sedge Wren, Palm Warbler, Scarlet Tanager, Orchard Oriole, Pine Siskin, Blanding’s Turtle, Eastern Milk Snake, Blue-spotted Salamander
-
A number of species NOT counted by ANY team in Carden (some listed here): Red-tailed Hawk, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Great-horned Owl, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Eastern Loggerhead Shrike, Bear, Northern Flying Squirrel
- Over $30,000 raised!
2026 species list including what each team counted - click here to download the Excel file
COMPETITIVE
Millennial Falcons
118 bird species
BIODIVERSITY
Fauna Fanatics
134 species
RECREATIONAL
Fantastic Fledglings
97 bird species
HYBRID
Let's Wing It
110 bird species
DAN BONE MEMORIAL CUP
Birds, Birds, Birds
4 butterflies
TOP FUNDRAISING TEAM
Top Fundraising Team: A Flock of Flamingos, $5,050
TOP FUNDRAISERS
Tanya Clark, $3005
CABINSCAPE DRAW
Cameron Curran
TEETER ASS TROPHY
The Carden Plain Janes