You did it. 🌍✨
For the FIRST TIME EVER, Global Big Day birders documented more than 8,000 species in a single day period, hitting a historic 8,016 species and setting a new world record! 🎉🙌
The numbers behind the day:
🐦 8,016 species
👥 80,000 eBirders + 2.1M Merlin users
✅ 197,640 checklists
From the highlands of Chiriquí to the mountains of Tajikistan, from Arusha National Park to Connecticut, #GlobalBigDay highlighted the incredible achievements of the global birding community, for birds, for conservation, and for each other. 🐥💛
To every birder who stepped outside on 9 May: thank you. You made history. 🌿
🔗 View the full results and read stories from birders across the world at the link in our bio.
Are you ready for Global Big Day and the May eBirder of the Month Challenge, sponsored by @zeissnature ?
THE CHALLENGE: Submit 5+ eligible checklists on Global Big Day (9 May, 2026) for your chance to win a brand new ZEISS SFL 8×40 binocular and become May's eBirder of the Month! 🔥
THE STAKES: This year we might break 8,000 species in a single calendar day for the FIRST. TIME. EVER. Your checklists could help the birding community reach this historic threshold! 🤯
THE IMPACT: Every checklist you submit, whether its your yard, local patch, or favorite birding hotspot, provides data for conservation and research. 📊
HOW TO MAXIMIZE YOUR DAY:
✅ Team up with fellow birders (birding is better with friends!)
✅ Use @merlin.bird.id to help with those tricky IDs
✅ Use Hotspot About pages and Hotspot Groups to plan your Big Day adventures
May 9th is your chance to be part of birding history and qualify for the eBirder of the Month Challenge! Tap the corresponding image linked in our bio to learn more about how to participate.
New eBird Hotspot Groups bring large birding destinations together under a single overview page.
- A map of every hotspot in the group
- A location leaderboard of the most-visited and most-species-rich spots
- Combined checklist activity for the whole area
Think of it as a table of contents for complex birding destinations. Whether you're planning a first visit or a return trip, get the full picture before you arrive.
Ready to go the extra mile for science? Submit separate checklists for each location in the group that you visit. Your activity counts toward both the specific hotspot and the overall group, giving you extra credit for your birding efforts! 💯
Explore new eBird Hotspot Groups near you. Tap the matching link in our bio to learn more.
{Image Description: Two images. The first is a satellite image of a coastline with urban development. Six green pins are placed around the map. Below the map is a list of these sites, linked to their eBird Hotspot pages. The second image is the same list of sites, this time ranked leaderboard-style by the number of checklists and number of species reported there.}
Your favorite eBird Hotspot deserves a great About page. Here’s your opportunity to write it!
New Hotspot About pages give every eBird Hotspot a dedicated space for local knowledge—birding tips, hours, accessibility details, and more. Content is community-sourced, so the more people who contribute, the more useful it becomes.
eBird Hotspots have always been a resource to discover birds at a location. Now they can tell you more about the place, too! Tap the matching image in our bio to learn more.
{Image Descriptions: Three scenic landscapes with sweeping vistas, water, and distant mountains. Superimposed on each is the eBird Hotspot About page for that location. The content sections are empty except for the prompt “Nothing added yet for this hotspot. Suggest Content”.}
