This past weekend, on June 17, eBird crossed a big milestone: a third of a billion bird sightings—contributed by 316,586 eBirders across every country in the world. Record #333,333,333 was added by Mike Madsen: an everyday sighting of a Song Sparrow in DuPage County, Illinois.

See the checklist here, complete with excellent breeding codes! This milestone is much more than a number: it is a real testament to what is possible when we work together as a global birding community. The birds that you see and report make a genuine difference in our shared global understanding of bird populations and abundance.

By providing an outlet for people's avian interests, those of us at eBird and the Cornell Lab strive to provide a place to encourage and support those who share our passion for birds and the natural world. Everything that we do is powered by the loyal eBird community: anyone who has ever entered an eBird checklist has made a valuable contribution.

eBirders entered 11.8 million bird sightings in May 2016, more than in the first five years of eBird's existence.

Read more at: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/333million/