Every year, people from around the world come together to learn about, count, and celebrate “backyard” birds. This year, the Great Backyard Bird Count will take place from February 12-15, and all are invited to participate! This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with your broader community, contribute to science, and spend some time learning about and appreciating our feathered friends.

Birds are all around us, nearly all the time. Whether you’re perched at your apartment window in the midst of a bustling city, or wandering the trails of a remote forest, you have the opportunity to step into the fascinating and engaging world of birds. The Great Backyard Bird Count, a partnership between Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Audubon Society, and Birds Canada, is a four day long event where people from every pocket of the globe are encouraged to spend time watching and counting birds. This can be done from the comfort of your own home, at a local park, while walking the dog around the block, or on your next nature hike in the woods. You can participate once or repeatedly throughout the week. Participants are asked to submit their counts via eBird, the world’s largest biodiversity-related community and citizen science project. These data help inform scientists across the world to the current status of various bird populations. Last year, over 27 million birds were counted by participants located in 194 countries!

Whether you count one bird or hundreds, participating in the Great Backyard Count is easy and accessible for people of all ages! Check out this link for more information on how to get started. We hope you’ll join us through this amazing opportunity to step closer to nature!