Begin planning now to join in the 2026 Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), an annual birding event that will take place Friday February 13th thru Monday the 16th – over Presidents Day Weekend. Connect with others in your community and around the world any or all of the days, for 15 minutes or a couple hours – whenever, wherever, as long as you wish. Simply identify and count the birds you see, then report your list on eBird, just as thousands of birders will join you to share information about the birds they find that weekend – how can anyone resist!
Starting out as a feeder watching event in 1998, the GBBC has become a global winter survey of birds at feeders, in your yard, at a park or refuge – anywhere! The best example of what we can do together is provided in the results of last year's 2025 Great Backyard Bird Count, when birders demonstrated that we can and will come together for birds worldwide. Collectively, birders found 8,078 species of the world's known species, which was 158 more species than recorded in 2024 – yes, this event, like birding is continuing to grow in popularity. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world were birding during the 4 days in February when the birds at your feeders and anywhere really counted; refer to Explore 2025 Final Results
Speaking about the GBBC, Barb Gorges from Wyoming noted: "We all need an incentive to get outside midwinter and look for birds beyond what we can see from our windows. It's fun to see the little flashes of light on the map when we submit our counts, among the thousands of birders around the world – and we know our data matter."
With 4 days to choose from and some birders sharing their sightings daily over the 4-day event, it can be a true Birding Holiday Weekend! Include family members, friends, a science or biology class, or scout group, a church group, or birding club – gather the troops or go it alone, but make it a holiday event, at least 1 day.
There is a wealth of information for you to refer to, with the GBBC led by the National Audubon Society, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and Birds Canada, with sponsorship by Wild Birds Unlimited. Best Wishes and Good Luck as you continue to attract winter birds to your feeding station and scout a variety of birding sites in advance of this year's GBBC event! Great Backyard Bird Count – Join us each February when the world comes together to watch, learn about, count, and celebrate birds.
Share your backyard birding experiences and photographs with The Birding Wire at editorstbw2@gmail.com