Believe it or not, October is right around the corner AND it's time to mark your calendars for October Big Day—11 Oct 2025!

October Big Day is an opportunity to unite with hundreds of thousands of birders to see as many species as you can in one day. Last October, nearly 750,000 people joined in this worldwide celebration.

It's easy to join in. Take a few minutes, wherever you are, to enjoy birds and share what you find on eBird. You can participate from anywhere, even from home!

How To Participate
1. Get an eBird account: eBird is a global platform for sharing bird observations. eBird is what allows us to compile everyone’s contributions into a single massive October Big Day list, while at the same time gathering data to help scientists better understand birds. 
Watch birds on 11 Oct: It’s that simple. You don’t need to be a bird expert or go out all day long, even 10 minutes of birding from home counts. October Big Day runs from midnight to midnight in your local time zone. You can report what you find from anywhere in the world.
Enter what you see and hear in eBird: You can enter your observations via the website or download the free eBird Mobile app to make submitting lists even easier. Please enter your checklists no later than 14 Oct to be included in the results announcement.
Watch the results roll in: During the day, follow along with bird reports from more than 200 countries in real-time on our October Big Day page.

eBird Trip Reports on October Big Day
eBird Trip Reports are a great way to share where you went and the birds you found on October Big Day. Simply create an eBird Trip Report for 11 October 2025. As you submit lists and upload media throughout the big day, they’ll be added to your report automatically. Send the trip report link to friends and family so they can follow along. (Learn more about eBird Trip Reports)

Plan for your October Big Day

Whether you’re a seasoned birder or just starting out, October Big Day is the perfect opportunity to contribute to participatory science, enjoy nature, and connect with a global community of bird lovers. With two months left to the big day, here’s how you can prepare for the celebration:

Take the free eBird Essentials course for an introduction to eBird or learn how to make your checklists more valuable for science and conservation,
Use eBird Mobile Explore to plan your route by locating nearby places to go birding and recently reported species.
Explore Birds of the World to discover new things about your favorite species.
Download the free Merlin Bird ID app to help you to identify the birds you see and hear on October Big Day. Upload your recordings to your eBird checklists to help Merlin identify more birds by sound.

By taking part in October Big Day you’re also celebrating Global Bird Weekend and World Migratory Bird Day. Be a part of the global team and help set a new record for October birding.