Want to be a citizen scientist for a few days? Join the annual Great Backyard Bird Count! For four days in February, the world comes together for the love of birds. People spend time in their favorite places watching and counting as many birds as they can find and reporting them to us. These observations help scientists better understand global bird populations before one of their annual migrations.
Birds are so important to our local ecology, especially for natural pest control. Many backyard birds keep bug populations at a tolerable level, and the raptors are essential for controlling rodents.
Participating is easy, fun to do alone or with others, and can be done anywhere you find birds.
- Step 1: Decide where you will watch birds.
- Step 2: Watch birds for 15 minutes or more, at least once over the four days, February 17-20, 2023.
- Step 3: Identify all the birds you see or hear within your planned time/location and use the best tool for sharing your bird sightings:
If you are a beginning bird admirer and new to bird identification, try using the Merlin Bird ID app to tell us what birds you are seeing or hearing.
If you have participated in the count before and want to record numbers of birds, try the eBird Mobile app or enter your bird list on the eBird website (desktop/laptop).