Interested in writing a guide for your county or region? This is great news! If you’re a frequent and avid birder and know your area well, use eBird -possibly fanatically- and are a reasonably good writer (we can help with editing), this may be a great fit for you.
Guide Content
Guides typically run about 20 pages of text; the inclusion of photographs will of course add to the length of the document. For example, our Hampshire County, MA guide is 24 pages with text and maps; the version with photos and maps is 37 pages. The guide should include what you consider to be the hotspots most likely to be productive, in terms of numbers of species of birds that can be seen and species most likely to be of interest to someone visiting from out-of-town. You would plan some itineraries that would make sense for the visitor who only has a few hours available for birding, with options for additional birding jaunts if they have more time. You absolutely do not need to include all hotspots, nor should you – only the ones that will give a visitor the best return on their investment of time. Your audience is someone who is in your area for a business or family commitment and would like to take advantage of their trip to get in some good birding. Where would you send them?
For each hotspot you should include the hotspot url and sample lists, the time it will take to cover the area (e.g., “30 to 60 minutes”), restroom availability, and information about accessibility, biting arthropods, hazards etc. Proximity to eateries is important information as well.
Graphics
Maps: Links to trail maps, if available, are helpful; so are area maps that show relationships among the hotspots you discuss (from Google Maps is fine).
Photos: This is completely up to you. If you are a photographer and would like to illustrate the guide with your own photos, by all means do this. Keep in mind that a richly illustrated guide may require compression before uploading to the site. There is a 500 MB limit for upload, and customers’ download limits will vary. We will attempt to minimize compression of your document.
Example guide
Below is a sample page from the Hampshire County, MA guide, and a more complete example can be made available to you. If you’re still interested in preparing a guide to your own county or region, check Available Tours to make sure the area is not listed, and use the Contact Us form to get in touch.
Note: currently several Massachusetts counties are in preparation and thus not yet listed in Available Tours.
Organizations that will benefit
As mentioned elsewhere, proceeds from sales of the tour you prepare will be divided three ways:
1) You keep one third (you can also ask that your share go to one or more of the designated conservation organizations but that is a personal choice)
2) Frequent Flyer Birding Tours keeps one third, to be used to buy binoculars, bird guides or other materials for people or groups who could not otherwise afford them. Funds may also be used for operating costs such as web hosting in the future; they are not currently used for this. Credit card transaction fees are taken out of the company’s share of the sales, not from the other shares.
3) One third goes to conservation organizations. These include:
a) Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
b) American Bird Conservancy
c) an organization in your area that you will choose (i.e., each sale will benefit that same organization)
All benefiting organizations are specified when the customer clicks on the tour product prior to ordering. Distribution of funds to the guide writer is done within a few days of the sale; organizational beneficiaries receive distributions less frequently to reduce administrive costs for them.
Still have questions?
Let us know via the Contact Us form.
