12th Annual Birdhouse Competition
Sponsored by Wake Audubon Society, the North Carolina Bluebird Society, and the JC Raulston Arboretum
- Friday, April 13, 2012 – 9:00 am–6:00 pm
– Birdhouse Entries Accepted
- Saturday, April 14, 2012 – 10:00 am–5:00 pm
– Show
- Sunday, April 15, 2012 – 1:00 pm–5:00 pm
– Show
Imaginations Run Wild—Birds Take Flight
It's that time of year again! The Birdhouse Competition returns to the JC Raulston Arboretum with events scheduled April 12 through April 15. If making birdhouses is not your thing, then looking at them should be. The creations range from barrels of laughs to studies in craftsmanship and beauty. Pack up the whole brood and join the fun.
Schedule of Events
April 12, 2012 (Thursday)
7:30 PM – Friends of the Arboretum Lecture – "Pandora's (Bird)box: Challenges and Solutions for Birds That Require Cavities" presented by John A. Gerwin, Research Scientist and Curator of Birds, NC Museum of Natural Sciences, and Treasurer, Wake Audubon Society
April 13, 2012 (Friday)
9:00 AM-6:00 PM – Registration of entries. No birdhouse entries will be accepted after 6:00 PM.
4:00 PM-7:00 PM – JCRA Plant Sale (Members Only Preview)
6:30 PM-9:30 PM – Judging begins promptly and should take one to three hours to complete.
April 14, 2012 (Saturday)
9:00 AM-5:00 PM – JCRA Plant Sale
10:00 AM-5:00 PM – Entries on display.
April 15, 2012 (Sunday)
12:00 PM-5:00 PM – Entries on display.
5:00 PM-6:00 PM – Entries may be picked up.
April 16, 2012 (Monday)
Entries may be picked up between 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM on Monday. Entries not removed by 6:00 PM will become the property of the JCRA.
Birdhouse Competition Specifics
Open to adults and children. If you love the natural world and unique garden art, get out your sketch pad, paints, and tool box. The competition is a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness about bird habitats, while expressing your own creativity.
Categories
Adult (Ages 16 and above)
- Serious
- Flight of Fancy
- Ages 4-6
- Ages 7-9
- Ages 10-12
- Ages 13-15
- Craftsmanship Functionality for humans and birds
- Mountability, ability to be raised or lowered, type of material, ability to be cleaned out, hole, roof, chamber (hole diameter, depth)
- Aesthetics
- Aesthetics
- Imaginative theme or concept and exceptional use of form, texture, and/or color, composition, and execution
- Craftsmanship
- Functionality for birds (hole, roof, chamber, etc.)
- Aesthetics
- Imaginative theme or concept; use of form, texture and/or color
- Craftsmanship
- Functionality for birds (hole, roof, chamber, etc.)
- Aesthetics
- Imaginative theme or concept, form, texture, and/or color, composition, and execution
- Craftsmanship
- Functionality for birds (hole, roof, chamber, etc.)
- Cost
- Free.
- Registration
- Advance registration is not available to attend any of this event. If you are planning on entering a birdhouse in the show, please fill out an entry form (adults and children (removed)) prior to dropping off your birdhouse. Please fill out the form completely. Both sections in the individual forms are needed.
- Location
- Ruby C. McSwain Education Center at the JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University, 4415 Beryl Road, Raleigh, North Carolina. Tours begin at the entrance to the Ruby C. McSwain Education Center at the JC Raulston Arboretum.
- Directions
- Need directions? Click here.
- Parking
- Free parking is available at the JC Raulston Arboretum and along Beryl Road.
- Questions
- Please call (919) 513-7005 for more information about this event.
Children
"Our Feathered Friends" Best-of-theme Award
Two best-of-theme awards will be given to the entries that best exemplify our "Our Feathered Friends" theme (one per all adults and one per all children). Use your imagination. Any birdhouse with a "Our Feathered Friends" theme will be considered for this award. This is not a separate category. All birdhouses entered will be considered for this award.
Judging
All guests are invited to judge the birdhouses on Saturday and Sunday. Use your pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and bills in an denomination to vote for your favorite birdhouses. There's no limit. Vote for as many as you wish. Each 1¢ is worth one vote. Winners will be announced on April 16.
Competition Guidelines
Serious
Entries will be judged on:
Note: Birdhouses entered into the Serious category can best be described as working birdhouses. They will be judged using the criteria listed above in the order they are listed.
Flight of Fancy
Entries will be judged on:
Note: Birdhouses entered into the Flights of Fancy category can best be described as decorator birdhouses. They will be judged using the criteria listed above in the order they are listed.
Please note the order in which the judging criteria are listed. These are listed in the order of importance for each category.
Children (Ages 4-15)
Entries will be judged on:
Best-of-theme Award
Best-of-theme awards will be judged on:
All entries should be portable.
Most entries should be able to stand alone when placed upon a display table. Large birdhouses should be equipped with their own stand that can support the birdhouse in an upright position on a concrete floor. As much as possible, children's entries should be prepared by the entrant.
Prizes
Various prizes provided by Pennington Seed and Outdoor Bird Company will be awarded.
Friends of the Arboretum Lecture Details
Pandora's (Bird)box: Challenges and Solutions for Birds That Require Cavities
Birds face a number of challenges when nesting or roosting in cavities; and some cavity users face challenges during other parts of their annual cycle. Come join us to hear ornithologist John Gerwin as he showcases those challenges and some "lesser known" solutions that birds, sometimes with the help of people, have come up with to raise young or get a good night's sleep. John will discuss some of his research and other project involvement with birds that use cavities. He will also highlight a few unusual cavity-use stories.
About John Gerwin
John began watching birds at about age 5. He was fortunate to be in a nature club for teenage kids, when he was 11-15 years of age. He received a B.S. in biology from the University of Minnesota, and an M.S. in zoology from Louisiana State University (where he studied the genetic evolution of some tropical hummingbird species). John has worked at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences for 24 years. He conducts research on a variety of birds that breed in North Carolina. He serves on the NC Audubon Important Bird Areas Technical Advisory Committee. He served on the review committee for the Piedmont region of the NC Birding Trail program. He has served on the board of the Wake Audubon Society since 2005 and is currently the treasurer. He co-advises students at NC State University and University of North Carolina, Wilmington. He enjoys doing a wide variety of public programs across the State, but especially at the City of Raleigh's Walnut Creek Wetland Center. He speaks Spanish and co-leads ecotours to various Latin American countries, especially Nicaragua, where he currently has two students studying several species of migratory birds. He is on the organizing committee for his neighborhood "gardening for wildlife" club called WildWest (in the Avent West district of Raleigh). He enjoys sharing a few spare moments with his fiance Kathy and their rescued Bouvier des Flandres, Nathan.
Wake Audubon Informational Booth
April 14, 2012 – 10:00 AM-5:00 PM
April 15, 2012 – 12:00 PM-5:00 PM
Join Wake Audubon, winners of the 2007 Governor's Award for Conservation Organization of the Year, at their information booth. They'll have activities for children and T-shirts and bluebird houses for sale.
Wake Audubon is currently conducting a conservation/fundraising campaign for chimney swifts, a bird that depends on cavities and for the most part, humanmade ones. For information about chimney swifts, the campaign, and programs/events we are offering in support of chimney swift conservation, please visit www.wakeaudubon.org or contact John Connors at jconnors@wakeaudubon.org.
North Carolina Bluebird Society Informational Booth
April 14, 2012 – 10:00 AM-4:00 PM
April 15, 2012 – 1:00 PM-4:00 PM
Bill Satterwhite, JCRA volunteer and long-time member of the North Carolina Bluebird Society, and other society members will present a film on bluebirds and share information about the birds. Bill maintains a trail of approximately 65-70 bluebird houses in Raleigh including the bluebird houses at the JCRA. He was one of the 2003 recipients of the Annual Bluebird Conservation Award. A video showing bluebird houses, nests being built, birds hatching, etc. will be shown.
Guided Arboretum Tour
April 15, 2012 (Sunday) – 2:00 PM-3:00 PM
We invite you to join us for free guided tours through the Arboretum. Learn about the Arboretum's history, plants, and more.