World Migratory Bird Day 2026: Every Bird Counts—Your Observations Matter

Join us at Gahagan Nature Preserve on Saturday May 9 from 10:00 am-12:00 pm to celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD). The theme for this year’s WMBD, “Every Bird Counts—Your Observations Matter”, highlights the role of public participation in collecting data on migratory bird populations and their habitats and factors that impact their populations and contribute to our knowledge about how to protect them. Community science, ranging from backyard bird counts to large-scale coordinated surveys, provides information on species distribution, abundance trends, migration timing, and breeding success. This data is important to identify conservation priorities and inform effective conservation action plans and strategies. By engaging individuals and communities in monitoring efforts, we not only gather scientific data but also build a deeper connection to nature, raise awareness about the challenges migratory birds face, and inspire direct conservation action.

We will talk about ongoing citizen science projects, eBird, and Merlin, then…