by Dan Casey

Mark your calendars for October Big Day — October 14, 2023! Like the Global Big Day in May, October Big Day is an opportunity to unite around our shared love of birds. Last October, nearly 35,000 people from 185 countries submitted 80,000 checklists with eBird, demonstrating the power of birds to bring people together.

Wherever you are on October 14th, take a few minutes to join in this global celebration. Participate from anywhere—even from home! By taking part in October Big Day you’re also celebrating Global Bird Weekend and World Migratory Bird Day. Be a part of the global team and help set a new record for October birding.

How to participate: (see also: https://ebird.org/news/october-big-day-2023)

Get an eBird account: eBird is a worldwide bird checklist program used by millions of birders. It’s what allows us to compile everyone’s contributions into a single massive October Big Day list—while at the same time gathering data to help scientists better understand birds. Sign up at cornell.com: It’s 100 percent free from start to finish.

Watch birds on October 14th: It’s that simple. You don’t need to be a bird expert or go out all day long, even 10 minutes of birding from home counts. October Big Day runs from midnight to midnight in your local time zone. You can report what you find from anywhere in the world.

Enter what you see and hear in eBird: You can enter your observations via our website or download the free eBird Mobile app to make submitting lists even easier. Please enter your checklists no later than October 17th to be included in the results announcement.

Watch the results roll in: During the day, follow along with bird reports from more than 180 countries in real-time on our October Big Day page.

Simply create an eBird Trip Report for October 14, 2023. As you submit lists and upload media throughout the big day, they’ll be added to your report automatically. Send the trip report link to friends and family so they can follow along. The eBird site explains how to set these up.

October Big Day Tips

  • If you’re new to eBird or want to make your checklists more valuable for science and conservation, take the free eBird Essentials course.
  • Use eBird Mobile Explore to find nearby places to go birding and recently reported species.
  • Use Cornell Lab’s free Merlin Bird ID app to help you identify the birds you see and hear on October Big Day. 
  • Make your observations more valuable: submit complete checklists, keep counts of the birds that you see, and keep multiple checklists throughout the day.
  • Have fun, enjoy the birds you find, and share your observations with eBird. Your checklists will help us better understand global bird populations!