Citizen Science Backyard Bird Count

The free eBird app (by Cornell Lab of Ornithology) on a phone or tablet

A bird field guide or the free Merlin Bird ID app (which can identify birds by photo or sound)

Binoculars (optional but helpful)

A notebook and pencil for tallying

A timer

Download eBird and create a free account. eBird is the world's largest citizen science biodiversity database — and your child can contribute to it today.

Choose your counting spot. Your backyard is perfect. A park bench, a lakeside, or a trail overlook also work well. Consistency lets you compare counts over time.

Set a timer for 15 minutes. During that time, record every bird you see or hear. Use tick marks for species you recognize. Write descriptions for ones you don't.

For unfamiliar birds, note key features: size, color pattern, beak shape, behavior. Then use the Merlin app — it can identify birds from descriptions, photos, or even recordings of their songs.

After 15 minutes, tally your list. How many species? How many total individual birds? Record the time, date, and weather conditions.

Open eBird and submit your checklist. Your observation data joins over one billion records used by scientists to track bird populations, migration patterns, and conservation status.

Do this weekly from the same spot. Over months, you'll build a real dataset showing which species are resident, which are seasonal, and when migrations happen.

The Great Backyard Bird Count (every February) and Christmas Bird Count (December) are organized citizen science events. Participating connects your child to a global community.

Merlin's sound identification feature is magical — hold your phone up and it identifies bird songs in real time. It makes expert-level identification accessible to beginners.

Your eBird data genuinely matters. Researchers use it to track population declines, range expansions, and the effects of climate change on bird species.