Two spring events that celebrate birds occur this week on Saturday, May 9, and you can participate.  Global Big Day brings together people who care about birds and contribute to the effort to understand how bird populations are faring worldwide. Every year the number of participants increases. You can be a part of birding’s biggest team when you report the birds you observe on this day.  In this time of turmoil,  the love of birds can unite people worldwide.                                                                                             

Adding to this important dataset is easy.  Simply list the bird species and numbers of each that you see in any location and enter your data on ebird.org. You may count for as little as ten minutes anytime between midnight and midnight on the 9th to participate. Count birds at your home or submit a list from your favorite location to watch birds.  If you are new to ebird, visit ebird.org to learn how to set up an account.                         

 Also occurring on Saturday the 9th is World Migratory Bird Day. The goal of this global effort is to raise the awareness of migratory birds and the need for international cooperation to conserve them.  Migratory birds rely on good habitat at their winter homes, along the paths of their spring and fall journeys, and in their summer breeding areas to survive.  They may travel through several countries each year.               

 Aligning with Global Big Day, this year’s Migratory Bird Day theme is “Every Bird Counts-Your Observations Matter”. This focus highlights the important role that citizen science observations play in identifying conservation priorities and informing strategies and actions to aid migratory bird populations.