Annual bird count events

Bird populations are always shifting and changing. Bird count events help collect data that highlight changes in bird populations, such as the effects of warm weather on their migration patterns and other phenomena. Several important bird count events held throughout the year. Anyone can participate in these events, whether you are brand new to bird watching or an experienced “birder” familiar will the bird calls of many species.

Bird count volunteers sign up to participate, use interactive maps to follow results across the country in real-time, and report their findings to the birding community through online checklists or mobile apps. Listed below, we provide details for the following annual bird count events:

• February: Great Backyard Bird Count over President’s Day Weekend (collaboration between Audubon Society and Cornell University Ornithology Department)
• May Big Day: Cornell University (2nd Saturday in the U.S.)
• October Big Day: Cornell University bird count (2nd Saturday in October)
• December 14 – January 5: Audubon Christmas Bird Count

Audubon Bird Counts

The Audubon Society conducts the Great Backyard Bird count (February) and the Christmas Bird Count (Dec 14-Jan 5) every year. Read more about each of these bird count events below and learn how you can participate. More info: birdcount.org.

Audubon Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC)

The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is a free, fun, and easy event. GBBC is a collaboration between the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Anyone can take part in the GBBC, from beginning bird watchers to experts. You can participate from your backyard, around your neighborhood, or a local park, anywhere in the world. Recently, more than 160,000 participants submitted their bird observations online, creating the largest instantaneous snapshot of global bird populations ever recorded.

How to participate in GBBC

• The GBBC is held Friday-Monday over President’s Day Weekend.
• Count for as little as 15 minutes in your own backyard (or longer if you wish) on one or more days of the four-day event. 
• Report your sightings online at birdcount.org. Each checklist submitted during the GBBC helps researchers learn more about birds around us and how to the environment we share.

Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC)

Since the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) began over a century ago, the data collected has become one of only two large pools of information used by ornithologists and conservation biologists to find out how the birds of the Americas are faring over time. Anyone can participate in the Christmas Bird Count. However, there is a specific methodology you must follow.

How to participate in CBC

• CBC occurs between December 14 to January 5 every year. Local counts are scheduled for one day during this period. 
• To participate in the CBC, you must join an existing CBC circle in advance. More info: Join the Christmas Bird Count | Audubon
• More info: Christmas Bird Count | Audubon

Cornell U “Big Day” bird counts

Cornell University “Big Days” are opportunities to celebrate the birds around you and be a part of a global birding community. Your observations help ornithologists better understand global bird populations. “Big Days” coincide with Cornell U Global Birding Events and World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) on two peak days each year, the Second Saturday in May and in October. 

How to participate in Cornell U bird counts

Participating is easy, no matter where you are. If you can spare at least 5 or 10 minutes, you can report bird observations in your backyard or around your neighborhood. If you have more time, you can submit checklists of birds throughout the day at different times. Can you find more birds in the morning, or the evening? You never know what birds you might spot!

1. Create an eBird account. It’s 100% free from start to finish. eBird is a bird checklist program used all year long by millions of birders worldwide. For more info, read the eBird FAQ.
2. Take the eBird Essentials Course before you watch birds. This free, self-paced course walk you step-by-step through using checklists to report your observations. You don’t need to be a bird expert, eBird is easy to learn and use. 
3. Enter what you see and hear on the eBird website or with their free eBird Mobile app.
4. On “Big Days”, watch the sightings in your location in real time. During the day, follow along with sightings from around the world.

World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD)

Birdwatching is a past time enjoyed by millions of Americans. WMBD has more than 700 events in the Americas designed to help people learn how to identify birds, how to connect with them, and how to delve deeper into topics such as birdsongs, bird calls, migration, and the science of flight. WMBD is officially celebrated on the second Saturday of May in Canada and the US, and the second Saturday of October in Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. 

Pacific Northwest events

• (May) Grays Harbor Shorebird and Nature Festival (shorebirdfestival.com)
• (May) Tualatin River Bird Festival (allaboutbirds.org) and Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge (fws.gov)
• (September) Wings Over Willapa (friendsofwillaparefuge.org)

 

Upcoming nature & science events

Listed below are science and nature events of all kinds on our calendar.

 

But wait, there’s more!

• Bird Watching in the Puget Sound region
• Great Blue Herons in the Puget Sound region
• And here’s a list of 101+ always free things to do for fun.
• More free and cheap things to do every day: Greater Seattle on the Cheap event calendar.
• Still more ideas for frugal fun: Greater Seattle on the Cheap home page.