Help set a record of more than 8,000 species of birds observed worldwide during the October Big Day (Bearded Reedling photo by Tim Emmerzaal). In some areas of the west, birders may find a Clark’s Nutcracker to add to their birding list on October 11th (photo by Kristen Cart in Wyoming). Take a look at the October Big Day website to learn more about where Black-backed Dwarf Kingfishers and other exciting species were sighted during last year’s event (photo by Peter Ericsson in Thailand).

It’s time to mark your calendar for the biggest day of birding this fall – the worldwide October Big Day on October 11th! Last year a record number of birders joined in this global celebration of birds and birding to report a record number of 7,994 different species of birds! Now let’s collectively break the 8,000 species mark during this single day of birding as a team formed by birders in more than 200 nations! Participating is especially easy: Wherever you are on October 11th, plan to take a few minutes or a few hours to enjoy birds and share what you find on eBird. You can participate from anywhere – including your own yard!

Emphasize making Saturday October 11th a special event by inviting a friend or family member to join you. Identify and count the birds you see and hear on October 11: It’s that simple. You can make more than one birding list too – report the birds you see at each location you visit – perhaps at a favorite woodland path in the morning, at a lakeshore later in the day, and at your feeding station during a coffee break. But you can contribute by just reporting on the birds you see during a shorter period – even 15 minutes of birding from anywhere you choose counts.

Up to October 10th, you can refer back to last year’s October Big Day list to see an interesting synopsis of how the information is tallied by geographic regions and national species totals. And you can review photos of birds and participants shared by birders from around the world! On game day, be sure to watch the results roll in from more than 200 countries in real-time on the October Big Day page.

The October Big Day runs from midnight to midnight in your local time zone. You can report the birds you find from anywhere in the world via the website, or you can download the Free eBird Mobile app at Enter Sightings on eBird Mobile : Help Center to make submitting lists even easier. eBird is the global platform for sharing bird observations, and everyone’s contributions are compiled into a single massive October Big Day list, which provides helpful information for biologists to better understand birds during fall migration. For more information about how you can make the most of your October Big Day, visit How to Plan a Big Day on the All About Birds website.

For more information about the October Big Day, begin by referring to October Big Day—11 Oct 2025 - eBird. Be a part of the global team and help set a new record for October birding.