Calling all birders for the annual Great Backyard Bird Count

Published 5:30 am Friday, February 14, 2025

EVERETT — The Audubon Society will hold its 28th annual Great Backyard Bird Count this weekend, allowing birders of all ages to help create a global data set of bird species and numbers.

To participate in the free citizen science event, you just need to find somewhere to watch birds for 15 minutes or more Friday through Monday.

“It’s called the Great Backyard Bird Count, but you don’t have to have a backyard to do it,” Pilchuck Audubon Society Executive Director Brian Zinke said. “You can do it from your apartment balcony or go to a local park or schoolyard.”

Once you’ve decided on where to observe, you’ll identify all the birds you see or hear within your planned time and location, and then share your gatherings to contribute to the worldwide collection.

For beginning birders, the Audubon website suggests using the free Merlin Bird ID app for assistance in identification.

Participants can also use the eBird app, which allows you to directly record and enter your counts. Participants must use one of the apps to upload their collected numbers to the database.

“It’s an important project because it’s one that scientists use to help document our global bird populations,” Zinke said, explaining that the collected data helps scientists understand where birds are before they start spring migrations.

Last year, over 642,000 birders from 210 countries and regions engaged in the event, submitting more than 384,000 eBird checklists and identifying 7,920 species.

You can download a Snohomish County bird checklist from the Pilchuck Audubon website.

Eliza Aronson: 425-339-3434; eliza.aronson@heraldnet.com; X: @ElizaAronson.

Eliza’s stories are supported by the Herald’s Environmental and Climate Reporting Fund.