Be a part of birding’s biggest team! Global Big Day is an annual celebration of the birds around you. No matter where you are, join us virtually on 11 May, help celebrate World Migratory Bird Day, and share the birds you find with eBird.
Participating is easy—you can even be part of Global Big Day from home. If you can spare 5 or 10 minutes, report your bird observations to eBird online or with our free eBird Mobile app. If you have more time, submit several checklists of birds throughout the day. You never know what you might spot. Your observations help us better understand global bird populations through products like these animated abundance maps brought to you by eBird Science.
Last year, Global Big Day collected more data about birds on a single day than ever before. More than 58,000 people gathered 3.2 million bird observations on 148,000 checklists, setting new world records for a single day of birding. Will you help us make this the year we surpass 150,000 checklists on a single day?
How to participate
- Get an eBird account: eBird is a worldwide bird checklist program used by millions of birders. It’s what allows us to compile everyone’s reports into a single massive Global Big Day list—while at the same time collecting data to help scientists better understand birds. Sign up here. It’s 100% free from start to finish.
- Enjoy birds on 11 May: It’s that simple. You don’t need to be a bird expert or go out all day long, even 10 minutes of birding from home counts. Global Big Day runs from midnight to midnight in your local time zone. You can report what you find from anywhere in the world.
- Enter what you see and hear in eBird: You can enter your sightings via our website or download the free eBird Mobile app to make submitting lists even easier. Please enter your checklists before 14 May to be included in our initial results announcement.
- Watch the results roll in: During the day, follow along with bird observations from more than 200 countries in real-time on our Global Big Day page.
eBird Trip Reports on Global Big Day
eBird Trip Reports are a great way to share where you went and the birds you found on Global Big Day. Simply create an eBird Trip Report for 11 May 2024. As you submit lists and upload media throughout the big day, they’ll be added to your report automatically. Send the trip report link to friends and family so they can follow along. (Learn more about eBird Trip Reports)
Create an eBird Trip Report for 11 May 2024 to share your locations, species lists, and media from this year’s Global Big Day. You can also create eBird Trip Reports for past Global Big Days, similar to Michael’s 2023 Global Big Day – Mayo (above).
Global Big Day Pro Tips
- The Cornell Lab’s free Merlin Bird ID app can help you to identify the birds you see and hear on Global Big Day.
- Use eBird Mobile Explore to find recently reported species or new places to go birding nearby.
- Take photos and sound recordings and add them to your checklist—they might end up on the Global Big Day page!
- Make your sightings more valuable: submit complete checklists, keep counts of the birds that you see, and keep multiple checklists throughout the day.
- Share what you’re seeing on social media with #GlobalBigDay!
On 11 May, we hope you’ll be a part of our global birding team. Have fun, enjoy the birds you find, stay safe, and share your sightings on eBird. Because in our world, every bird counts.