Returning for its 28th year, the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) kicks off this weekend for a four-day free and fun event to count and report details of birds.
From Friday, February 14, 2025 through Monday, February 17, 2025 thousands of people around the world will take as little as 15 minutes to notice birds around them and report them online.
The information shared by GBBC participants helps scientists better understand global bird populations.
And you’re invited to join in!
I always look forward to GBBC and do my best to spread the word to people who’ve never heard about it.
GBBC is a fun activity you can do on your own, or with family and friends.
It only takes 15 minutes and you can watch or listen to birds from the comfort of your own home.
Or at a neighborhood park. Or along the shoreline or marsh of one of the Great Lakes, which is where I usually head to.
Dozens of Northern Cardinals, hundreds of Red-breasted Mergansers, and a Short-eared Owl at dusk are a few of the more than 50 bird species I’ve seen during Great Backyard Bird Counts.
What to Know About the Great Backyard Bird Count
Organized by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Audubon Society, and Birds Canada, GBBC 2025 is a four-day event on February 14 to 17, 2025.
You can start as early as midnight local time on February 14, 2025 and spend at least 15 minutes to count and submit the birds you see or hear.
How to Participate
While binoculars are helpful for viewing and identifying birds, you don’t need binoculars to participate in GBBC!
Three steps to participate:
- Pick a location to watch birds
- Count all the birds you see or hear for at least 15 minutes on one of the four days
- Identify all the birds and submit your bird sightings online to the eBird website, free eBird mobile app, or free Merlin mobile app.
If you prefer to join a community group, check out the GBBC Community Group map to locate a GBBC group activity near you. (I could only find one public community group event in southeast Michigan.)
Need Help With Bird Identification?
I’ve got you covered!
Here are a few resources I recommend:
- Bird identification guides (if you don’t have any, borrow one from your local public library)
- All About Birds website from Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Free Merlin app with photos, sounds, and maps
- Want more information about participating and get tips on bird identification?
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology is offering a free Zoom GBBC webinar today, February 12, 2025 at 3PM Eastern Time.
And if you’re not sure about your identification, Merlin’s Photo ID and Sound ID can help you confirm what you’ve seen/heard.
You can take a photo and Merlin’s Photo ID will offer suggestions on what it could be. Or record the bird call/song and Merlin’s Sound ID provides suggestions on what the bird might be.
Note: according to the Merlin website, as of February 2025, Sound ID:
…includes comprehensive coverage in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Western Palearctic, and coverage of more common and widespread species in India and the Neotropics.
Added bonus: both Sound ID and Photo ID work offline.
Summary
I hope you join the Great Backyard Bird Count this weekend! It’s a fun activity, free, and takes as little as 15 minutes.
If you join GBBC, share what birds you observed in the comments.
