Great Backyard Bird Count

2026 Results
The 2026 Great Backyard Bird Count highlights the power of a growing global community, with more observations submitted and more bird species documented worldwide. Here are the results:

• 8,257 bird species identified (179 more than in 2025)

• 216 countries and eBird subregions represented

• 467,696 eBird checklists submitted

• 1,239,329 bird identifications logged through Merlin Bird ID

• 246,225 photos, videos, and sounds contributed to the Macaulay Library

• 1.1+ million participants worldwide

• 435 community events reported

Learn more: https://www.birdcount.org/2026-final-results/

Mark your calendar: The next Great Backyard Bird Count takes place February 12–15, 2027.

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About GBBC
Connect with others in your community and around the world here.

Wild Birds Unlimited is a founding and major sponsor of the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), an annual counting of the birds. For at least 15 minutes on one or more of the count days, simply tally the numbers and kinds of birds you see. Learn how to submit your data at the GBBC website, https://www.birdcount.org. It’s that easy.

When you feed birds in your backyard and submit data for GBBC, it shows that you value having a daily relationship with nature and that you are willing to take action to foster it. Your information becomes part of an extensive database that is analyzed by scientists to better understand important trends in bird populations, range expansions, habitat changes and shifts in migration patterns.

Participating in GBBC is now more important than ever, because birds need our help. Our partners at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, in collaboration with other researchers, recently published a study which determined that the skies over North America are home to nearly three billion fewer birds than in 1970. That means almost 1 out of every 4 birds have disappeared from our lives over the past 50 years. You can help by providing data about your bird sightings and by creating habitat in your own backyard which supports birds and other wildlife.

Wild Birds Unlimited has a long history of providing educational information, products and services that directly support local and migratory song bird populations. You can indeed make a difference – in your own backyard. Listen to our Nature Centered podcast and check out the show notes here for more details and specific ways to be a song bird hero by sharing your sightings during GBBC and beyond. Click here for more actions you can take to help #SaveTheSongBirds.

Visit your local Wild Birds Unlimited store for more information and for great products to help you count the birds. Find your local store.

The GBBC is led by Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, along with Birds Canada.