Native to eastern Australia, the impressive Variegated Fairywren was 1 of the 7,167 species included in last year’s October Big Day tally (photo by Mat Gilfedder).

Saturday October 9th will be the biggest day for birders this fall, so wherever you are, plan to join the world of birders as we enjoy birding on October Big Day. You can report birds from anywhere in the world, for as long as you wish, within the 24-hour period from midnight to midnight – even 20 minutes or more in your own yard will help. Simply identify and count all the birds you see in a location of your choice, and report your list on eBird. You can visit a number of your favorite birding locations if you wish to. It’s fun, it’s an opportunity to join the worldwide birding community, and you will help add to our knowledge about what birds can be found where on a single day during fall migration.

Last year 33,671 birders from more than 170 countries submitted 80,619 checklists during the October Big Day 2020, adding up to an amazing 7,167 species! That included 703 species in the United States and Canada.

Recognizing that the covid pandemic continues to impact our communities, even if your local conditions have improved, eBird organizers encourage everyone to put safety first, follow local guidelines, and enjoy birding in mindful ways.

To get all the information about how to participate in the October Big Day on Saturday October 9th, please refer to https://ebird.org/news/october-big-day-2021

And to review all of last year’s lists of birds and bird counts by country and continent, see https://ebird.org/region/world/regions?yr=BIGDAY_2020b&hsStats_sortBy=num_species&hsStats_o=desc