Contest: How Many Species Will Noah See?

The December contest is now closed. 

Noah Strycker is traveling the world birding at a breakneck pace. We invite you to guess how many species he'll see each month—and have a chance to win great prizes. 

There will be three prizes awarded in December.  The grand prize will be a Tamron SP 150-600MM F/5-6.3 Di VC USD Ultra Tele Zoom Lens. The second prize, for the runner-up, will be a Lowepro Photo Sport Pro 30L—a lightweight technical photo backpack for the active adventure photographer. A third prize, a copy of the Birds of Peru—the most complete and authoritative field guide to Peru's diverse, neotropical landscape—will also be awarded, complements of Visit Peru. 

Here’s how it works:

1. On the 15th of every month through December 2015, we’ll ask users to submit their guesses for how many species Noah will have seen during his Big Year by 11:59 p.m. on the last day of that month. We’ll pose the question on our Facebook page and you’ll have 24 hours to post your guess. Just one guess per person, please.

2. We're looking for a guess at the total Big Year species count for the end of that month (not just a guess at how many new species he'll see during that month). For example, and per the species list, by the end of January, Noah was at 718 species, and by February, he had reached 1389. 

3. Audubon will select the Grand Prize winner this way:
a. If one person correctly guesses the answer, he/she is the winner.
b. If multiple people correctly guess, they will be entered into a lottery, and one name will be selected to win the prize. 
c. If no one guesses correctly, we will choose the person with the closest guess as the winner.
d. The second prize winner will be chosen by a random drawing  from the pool of all submissions remaining after the Grand Prize drawing. 
We'll announce the winner on our Facebook page (pending permission). 

Full terms and conditions are below. Happy guessing!

THE AUDUBON BIRDING WITHOUT BORDERS MONTHLY SPECIES COUNT OFFICIAL RULES AND REGULATIONS

1) Sponsor: Audubon Magazine, an operating unit of National Audubon Society, Inc., 225 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014 (“Audubon Magazine” or “Audubon”). 

2) No purchase necessary.

3) Birding Without Borders Monthly Species Count (“Sweepstakes”) is open from 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time (“ET”) on December 15, 2015 through 11:59 p.m. ET on December 15, 2015.

4) To be eligible, you must be at least 18 years old as of December 15, 2015, and a resident of the United States.  Employees, officers, and directors of Audubon and any and all entities directly associated with the Sweepstakes, including immediate family members and members of the same household, are not eligible to participate (collectively with Audubon, the “Sweepstakes Entities”). Void where prohibited by law.  Sweepstakes are governed by U.S. law and subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. By entering the Sweepstakes, entrants agree to accept and be bound by all the terms of these Official Rules and Regulations (“Official Rules”). 

5) To enter the Sweepstakes, you must be logged onto Facebook.  Once logged on, to submit a guess, you must 1) visit Audubon’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NationalAudubonSociety ; and, 2) write a comment that includes a guess of how many different species of birds Noah will have seen on his big year as of 11:59 p.m., October 31, 2015 (“Submission”).  Audubon reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify and remove any Submission and/or entrant at any time, including for false or deceptive acts.  False or deceptive acts may include multiple Submissions or Submissions reasonably suspected to be generated by script, macro or other automatic means; any Submission the Audubon determines to be offensive, inappropriate, or not in keeping with Audubon’s image.  Submissions may also be disqualified if you have not otherwise complied with any portion of these Official Rules. 

6) Only one Submission permitted per person.

7) Odds of winning depend on how many Submissions are received that correctly or nearly correctly guess the number of bird species Noah sees.

8) One winner will receive a Lowepro Photo Sport Pro 30L (retail value: $199.95). A second winner will receive a copy of BIrds of Peru (retail value: $49.50) . A third winner will receive a Tamron SP 150-600MM F/5-6.3 Di VC USD Ultra Tele Zoom Lens (retail value $1,069). 

9) The Grand Prize winner will be selected by a random drawing conducted by Audubon magazine on December 2, 2015, from the pool of Submissions that correctly guess the number of bird species Noah will have seen as of 11:59 p.m., December 31, 2015. In the event that there are no Submissions correctly guessing the number, Audubon magazine will select the Submission that is closest to the correct number. In the event of a tie in correct Submissions or, if none, then those Submissions closest to correct, Audubon magazine will randomly select a winner from the pool of tied Submissions.  A second prize winner will be chosen by a random drawing conducting by Audubon magazine from the pool of all submissions remaining after the Grand Prize Drawing. The winners will be contacted on via Facebook message and will be required to reply within five (5) Business days and provide a shipping address. If within five (5) business days, any winner does not respond to Audubon magazine’s notification, or otherwise cannot be contacted, or is found to be ineligible, an alternate winner may be randomly selected from the original pool using the same method. 

10) Audubon is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate entry information, viruses, bugs, malfunctions, or other any other errors, human or otherwise, regardless of the cause (collectively, an “Error”).  In the event of any Error, Audubon reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to discontinue, suspend, cancel, or modify the Sweepstakes.   In the event of cancellation, Audubon reserves the right to re-draw from the pool of all eligible, non-suspect Submissions received prior to the Error using the selection procedure outlined above.   Prize is subject to availability.  No substitution or transfer of prizes or cash redemptions permitted, except at Audubon’s sole discretion.

11)  You are solely responsible for your Submissions and, by entering a Submissions, you represent and warranty that the content of the Submission is not defamatory, obscene, hateful, harassing, or discriminatory, nor is a violation of any law, including those protecting privacy, publicity, trade secrets, copyrights or trademarks.  You agree to indemnify the Sweepstakes Entities against any third party claim that your Submission breaches these representations and warranties.

12) Audubon reserves the right to substitute for any reason whatsoever a prize (or portion thereof) of comparable or greater value, at its sole discretion.  Winners are responsible for the reporting and payment of all taxes as well as any other costs and expenses associated with acceptance and use of their prize not specified herein as being awarded.

13) By entering this Sweepstakes, you grant to the Sweepstakes Entities the right, unless prohibited by law, to use your name, city and state of residence, voice, picture and likeness, and Submission, without compensation, notification or approval, for the purpose of advertising and publicizing the goods, services and mission of the Sweepstakes Entities, in any manner or medium, now or hereafter known, throughout the world in perpetuity. 

14) By entering this Sweepstakes and/or accepting the prize, you and/or the winners agree to, and hereby do, release the Sweepstakes Entities from any and all liability, loss or damage arising from or in connection with their participation or attempted participation in the Sweepstakes and/or the awarding, receipt, use or misuse of the prize or participation in any prize related activities, and claims based on publicity rights, defamation or invasion of privacy. The Sweepstakes Entities and their parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates and divisions, and their respective directors, officers, employees, attorneys, representatives and agents, make no warranties, and hereby disclaim all warranties, express or implied, concerning any prize furnished or awarded in connection with the Sweepstakes, including, but not limited to, any winner’s ability to claim a prize awarded in the Sweepstakes for reasons of the prize provider’s bankruptcy, insolvency or failure to continue its business. WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, SUCH PRIZES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AND THE SWEEPSTAKES ENTITIES HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL SUCH WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND/OR NONINFRINGEMENT.

13) You may obtain the name and city of residence of winners by mailing a self-addressed stamped envelope to Birding Without Borders Monthly Species Count Giveaway, 225 Varick Street, 7^th Floor, New York, NY 10014, or by emailing audubonmagazine@audubon.org with the subject line “ Birding Without Borders Monthly Species Count Winners’ List.”

The terms of Audubon’s Privacy Policy http://www.audubon.org/privacy-policy and Terms of Use https://www.audubon.org/legal-notice apply and, to the extent there is any discrepancy, supersede those provided here.