The biggest birding day of the year returns on Saturday, May 9th, 2026! Global Big Day (GBD) is more than a mass data collection event, it is a global celebration of magnificent birds and the incredible people who protect them, all focused on amplifying our potential to create a lasting, positive impact on our planet. On this day, bird enthusiasts and nature lovers around the world head outdoors to document as many bird species as possible in just 24 hours. These observations help scientists monitor bird populations, track migration patterns, and identify habitats in need of conservation.
What makes GBD truly special is that it’s open to everyone wherever they are. Whether you’re an expert birder chasing a rare endemic deep in the forest or just starting out with backyard birds, there’s a place for you in this global effort to understand and protect birds.
Compete for the Cause: Join Our Team Challenge!
We’re thrilled to bring back our popular teams competition for GBD 2026, and we’d love for you to be a part of it! Both national (individual islands) and multinational teams are invited to join in the effort to make a lasting impact on the birds and ecosystems of the Caribbean.
We’re especially eager to see a team representing each Caribbean island, so if you don’t see your island listed here, now’s your chance to step up and take the lead (more details below).
We are calling on you to unite with local birders to help bring attention to your island’s irreplaceable and incredible diversity of birds as well as the BirdsCaribbean programs that enhance our understanding and drive the action needed to protect these iconic species.
By participating, you and your team will play an important role in advancing our understanding of Caribbean birds and their habitats, showing the world just how incredible your island is.
Last year we had 31 teams compete with members spanning across 47 countries and raised over $64,000US to keep our core programs going. This year let’s take it to the next level—more islands, more energy, more data—and show the world how passionate and serious we are about bird conservation!
Birding for a Cause: Empowering the Next Generation
In addition to hosting what is (unofficially) the most exciting birding competition in the region, we’ll also be raising funds to provide travel scholarships to deserving bird conservationists to attend our upcoming 25th International Conference in Trinidad and Tobago! It’s an invaluable opportunity for international networking and learning new skills to help save our Caribbean birds.
24 Joyous Hours of Birding, Exploring, and Making Friends!
During peak migration time in the spring, birders around the world head out to their favorite birding spots, or venture into new areas, to see, hear and record as many bird species as they can in a 24-hr period of time. Global Big Day runs from midnight to midnight in your local time zone. The data is entered into eBird checklists (more about using eBird below).
No matter where you are—at home, a botanical garden, beach, river or nature reserve—you can contribute important data about the birds around you. You don’t need to be an expert birder or spend the entire day looking for birds. Just 10 minutes of birding in your backyard or from your balcony will count too. Imagine, while enjoying your morning coffee, you can also be contributing valuable data for bird conservation.
This is not Microsoft Teams
If you’re looking to make your GBD experience more social, consider teaming up with a friend or group. Pairs or groups can carpool, help out with tricky bird IDs, share equipment like spotting scopes.. and possibly snacks!
We are calling on our community to bird together in virtual teams (you don’t need to be birding together in the same place) during Global Big Day and engage in friendly competition to see which team can:
1) collectively see the most species of birds, and
2) raise the most funds.
Additional recognition will be given to
- the team with the most creative name!
- the “country/island team” that sees the highest proportion of their birds on Global Big Day (to control for differences in the number of species on each island!)
- the team with the best “find” of the day (unusual, rare, plumage aberration, etc.)
- the team with the best bird photo of the day (must be posted on eBird along with your list)
Last year the Piping Pawis from Trinidad and Tobago and the Gundlach Team from Cuba swept the competition. Will your team be the one to dethrone these champs?
The Best Global Big Day Starts with the Right Prep!
Ready to make the most of Global Big Day? Joining our competition is easy—just follow these simple steps to prepare for a successful birding adventure!
Step 1: Get Set Up with eBird
First things first, if you don’t already have one, download the eBird app and set up your account. You will need it to submit your checklist/s! It’s FREE and you can sign up here! Don’t forget to check out Getting Started with eBird to get familiar with the app.
Step 2: Join Your Island Team
By joining your island team, you’ll gain access to shared resources—if you don’t have binoculars or a field guide, other birders may offer a spotting scope and copies for you to use.
If you’d prefer your own binoculars, we recommend Vortex Optics Diamondback HD 8×42. The Birds of the West Indies, Second Edition field guide is available for purchase here. If you’re birding in the Lesser Antilles, this guide is highly recommended.
Chances are that your island already has an existing team! Team Up by heading over to our Givebutter BC GBD Teams page to find your team! Just click the ‘JOIN A TEAM’ button on the campaign page to get started.
Step 3: Choose Your Birding Location/s
Choose your birding location carefully. Local parks, nature reserves, and wetlands offer a wide range of species. Team leaders will be your best resource for advice on where to go and the best times to visit.
Want to Create Your Own Team?
Not seeing a team for your island and want to create your own? We love your initiative! Just email Lisa.Sorenson@BirdsCaribbean.org to get set up. We’ll help you with the groundwork of getting your team set up, including setting up your must-have eBird trip report, so that you and your crew can soar to GBD success! After setup, you’ll have full control to manage it, so be sure to really make it your own with a fun name, photos, and your own lingo!
All team leaders and members should then invite family, friends, colleagues, and members of your birding community to join your team and/or donate to your team. It helps to set your own personal fundraising goal to help your team reach its overall goal!
By inviting people to your team, you’ll be:
(1) raising awareness for BirdsCaribbean and the critical bird research and conservation work we do in the region,
(2) helping to raise funds to support rising Caribbean conservation leaders, and
(3) promoting Global Big Day, citizen science, and the importance of conserving birds and their habitats.
If you can’t join the GBD team competition fun this year, you can still show support by making a donation.
Why We Really Need Your Support this Global Big Day
This Global Big Day fundraiser will fund travel scholarships for Caribbean students and wildlife professionals to attend our upcoming International Conference, 23rd – 27th July, 2026, in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. These are dedicated persons who are on the ground, doing the work everyday to secure a future for birds and their habitats. Attending the conference is an invaluable opportunity for them to 1) build upon or gain new skills to address threats to bird conservation on their respective islands, and 2) network with the wider conservation community, share their work, and learn from others. For Caribbean students, this experience will help to kickstart their introduction into the ornithological and conservation community and they will benefit from mentorship opportunities.
Our plan is to raise funds to help cover travel costs that will allow deserving participants to attend—including covering registration, airfare and/or hotel costs as necessary.
We hope everyone, whether or not they join a team or fundraise, will commit to spending some time (or the entire day!) birding on Global Big Day (May 9), being sure to keep track of what you see and then enter that information into eBird.
As with everything in the Caribbean, we will be successful when our whole community pitches in, so let’s do this together! We need your help to do this!