Join the world's birding community during peak migration during October Big Day, coming up on Saturday October 10th! This annual celebration of birds and birding is the highlight of fall for birders to join together for an exciting day of community birding around the globe. Last October, birders participated in 196 nations around the world and reported seeing a record 7,834 species of birds during a single day of birding in October. Wherever you are on October 10th, plan to enjoy a period of birding for 20 minutes or 20 hours, but likely somewhere in between to identify and count all the birds you find – then share your results on eBird.
Organize a group or enjoy birding on you own; participate from anywhere, even from home. By taking part in the October Big Day you will be joining the global team to gather new information for science and to help set new records for the October Big Day. It's this simple: Go birding on October 10th anytime from midnight to midnight in your local time zone. Then report what you find from anywhere in the world on eBird to make your birds count as part of the official results.
To add to the fun, take a couple photos or a video during your birding adventure, and write a short description of your experience to share with others. You can follow the reports that will be pouring in throughout the day in real-time from birders around the world at October Big Day (at this time the results from 2025 are posted there, but the 2026 results will begin to post October 9th).
To learn more details about how to participate and get the most out of your OBD experience, refer to October Big Day—10 Oct 2026 - eBird
And you can review the report produced about last year's OBD 2025 event at Collective Achievement on October Big Day 2025 - eBird
Wherever you go birding during the October Big Day, have fun, enjoy the people around you, and enjoy the birds you find. Your checklists will help us better understand global bird populations through products like Animated Abundance Maps, created by eBird Science. Join the fun, share the experience!