The 2020 Biggest Week In American Birding has been cancelled, according to Kimberly Kaufman of Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO). The unique 10-day festival of birdwatching, the largest in the United States, was to have been held May 8-17.  “We’ve known in our minds what we must do. But our hearts were having a hard time letting go,” said Kaufman.

With the potential of the impacts of COVID-19 likely to stretch on for many weeks, even if the all-clear is given soon, at this point the BSBO team does not feel confident that we could deliver the kind of quality experience that has become the signature of The Biggest Week, she said. And while birds and birding are important to all of us, protecting people is paramount.

“We are immensely grateful to all of the volunteers, partners, and sponsors who put so much into preparations for the event this year. Part of the difficulty in accepting the inevitable was the painful process of sharing this news with them first.

“But even while we’re all trying to remain as isolated as possible, people have come together to support Black Swamp Bird Observatory. Our hardest working and most dedicated volunteers didn’t bat an eye, they simply said they’d be ready to rock for 2021!,” said Kaufman.