How to Participate

Participating is easy, fun to do alone, or with others, and can be done anywhere you find birds.
Choose the easiest way for you to share your birds:

• Identify birds with Merlin Bird ID app and add sightings to your list

• Use the eBird Mobile app

• Enter your bird list on the eBird website (Desktop/laptop)

All you need is a free Cornell Lab account to participate. This account is shared with Merlin, eBird, Project FeederWatch and other projects at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. If you already have an account please use the same username and password for submitting your bird list for the Great Backyard Bird Count.

We recommend observing birds for at least fifteen minutes. See this page for more counting instructions.

It’s That Easy!
Submit one or more lists over the four days of counting and you become a contributing citizen scientist (community scientist). All eBird entries and saved Merlin Bird IDs over the four days contribute to the Great Backyard Bird Count.