Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance invites everyone to join the 2024 Great Backyard Bird Count!
THE COUNT
The Great Backyard Bird Count is coming soon! This is it, the global bird count that you can do in your slippers! Or not. It’s your choice. But this is the bird count for everyone, whether you’ve only begun birding, if you prefer to watch birds from your windows, or even if you regularly go out to chase rarities.
GBBC Events:
Join the fun with these neighborhood events around Santa Clara County!
Friday, February 16: McClellan Ranch Beginning Bird Outing (Cupertino)
Saturday, February 17: Birding and Planting at McClellan (Cupertino) Rescheduled to March 17
Sunday, February 18: Birding in the Neighborhood: Jollyman Park (Cupertino)
Sunday, February 18: Lake Cunningham Park Drop-in Birding (San Jose)
Monday, February 19: Christmas Hill Park Drop-in Birding (Gilroy)
So what is the Great Backyard Bird Count? From February 16-19, 2024, people across the world make a concerted effort to watch and count birds around their homes and communities for those four days. This is the bird count that celebrates the ordinary and wants to learn more about the mundane. Every bird is worth counting, whether it’s the Black Phoebe you watch out your window while having a cup of coffee, or the American Crows that fly to their roost trees during your drive home. You can watch from home, or on a neighborhood walk, or even from a favorite birding location.
To take part, all you have to do is bird for fifteen minutes (or more if you want!) between February 16 and February 19, anywhere you’d like, and then submit your list to eBird. Simple as that, and you’re part of a global community science project!
Click here for more information about how to participate in the count.
Let’s get started!
Learn the basics of backyard birding, and get ready for the GBBC, with these presentations.
Beginning Birding Webinar:
SCVBA Executive Director Matthew Dodder presents a fun introduction to the fascinating world of birding! Matthew introduces our local birds and answers your questions about where to look for them and how to identify them.
New to eBird?
Learn the basics of eBird with this comprehensive introduction:
More resources to help you get ready for the GBBC:
Learn how to count birds in your yard on our Backyard Birding blog.
Brush up on your local birds with our grid of 28 backyard birds you need to know.
Download our checklist of Birds of Santa Clara County.
Townsend’s Warbler by Curt Bianchi
GBBC 2023
Savannah Sparrow by Michelle MacKenzie
View the results for Santa Clara County on eBird.
And enjoy our GBBC photo gallery, featuring images of a wonderful variety of Bay Area birds! These pictures were taken by local photographers during the four days of the event.
By participating in the GBBC, you support conservation efforts for birds. Thank you for joining in and giving birds a helping hand!
The Great Backyard Bird Count is a project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Audubon, and Birds Canada. Learn more at birdcount.org.