Global Big Day

Global Big Day
Name	Global Big Day
Caption	Participants recording birds on a coastal saltmarsh
Date	Usually first Saturday in May
Location	Worldwide
Established	2013
Organizers	eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, BirdLife International
Activity	Birdwatching, citizen science

Global Big Day Global Big Day is an annual worldwide birdwatching and citizen science event that mobilizes birders to submit bird observations to eBird on a single day. Organized by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in partnership with BirdLife International and hosted on the eBird platform, the event concentrates community science efforts to map species distributions across countries and continents. Global Big Day engages amateur and professional naturalists from cities, protected areas, islands, and remote regions such as Galápagos Islands, Madagascar, and the Arctic to produce a snapshot of global avifauna.

Overview

Global Big Day assembles participants from national birding clubs like Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Audubon Society, BirdLife South Africa, BirdLife Australia, and regional organizations including BirdWatch Ireland and Manomet. Observers range from volunteers affiliated with institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution and Natural History Museum, London to researchers from universities like Cornell University, University of Oxford, University of Cape Town, University of São Paulo, and Monash University. The event leverages data infrastructure developed by organizations such as Xeno-canto, eBird Macaulay Library, and conservation NGOs like Wildlife Conservation Society and World Wildlife Fund to synthesize records. Sponsors and partners have included foundations such as the National Geographic Society, the Packard Foundation, and corporate collaborators in technology and mapping like Google, Esri, and Mapbox.

History and development

The concept evolved from localized "Big Days" popularized by birding traditions in regions like the United Kingdom and the United States—notably long-standing competitions such as the Christmas Bird Count run by the National Audubon Society and county Big Days popular in states like California and Florida. The coordinated global effort began in 2013 with a focus on broad participation and data standardization under the stewardship of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and BirdLife International. Over successive years the event integrated technological advances from projects by institutions such as University of California, Berkeley and datasets connected to initiatives like the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the IUCN Red List assessments. The timeline includes notable expansions into regions served by organizations like BirdLife International Partners in Peru, Nepal, and Kenya, and outreach campaigns involving media partners such as BBC Earth and National Geographic Magazine.

Participation and methodology

Participants submit checklists via the eBird mobile app and website, following standardized protocols developed with input from researchers at Cornell University and NGOs such as Conservation International. Protocols distinguish between complete checklists, incidental records, and traveling counts, and recommend effort metrics used by analysts at institutions like BirdLife International and the American Bird Conservancy. Coordinated team efforts often include collaborations with protected-area managers at sites like Kruger National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Serengeti National Park, and small-island conservation programs in places such as Seychelles and Hawaii. Training materials reference field guides and taxonomies produced by authorities including the International Ornithologists' Union and regional checklists maintained by museums like the American Museum of Natural History and the Natural History Museum, Tring.

Records and notable results

Global Big Day has produced record species counts for countries and territories including large lists from Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Indonesia, and United States. Individual birders, teams, and national campaigns have posted high tallies paralleling historical achievements in birding such as feats by notable ornithologists affiliated with institutions like Cornell Lab of Ornithology, British Trust for Ornithology, and the African Bird Club. The aggregated dataset has revealed notable occurrences of species covered by the IUCN Red List—for example records of Hawaiian Goose, California Condor, Philippine Eagle, Kakapo, and migratory movements of Bar-tailed Godwit and Arctic Tern. Hotspots identified include biodiversity centers like the Amazon Rainforest, Cerrado, Sundaland, Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands, and temperate flyways such as the East Asian–Australasian Flyway and Atlantic Flyway.

Impact and conservation outcomes

Data from Global Big Day have supported conservation planning by agencies such as BirdLife International, the IUCN, national ministries of environment in Colombia, Kenya, and Philippines, and regional programs run by organizations like Ramsar Convention partners. The event has informed Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) identification, site-level management at locations such as Banc d'Arguin National Park and Okavango Delta, and advocacy by NGOs including Wetlands International and Conservation International. Results have been used in academic studies by researchers at University of Cambridge, Yale University, and University of British Columbia to model species distributions, migration phenology, and detect shifts linked to phenomena studied by agencies like Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and regional conservation initiatives.

Criticisms and controversies

Critics from community science forums, academic groups like those at University of Oxford and University of Exeter, and conservation NGOs have raised issues about sampling bias, data quality, and unequal global participation favoring countries with strong birding cultures such as United Kingdom, United States, and Australia. Concerns have been voiced regarding the potential disturbance to sensitive species in sites like Galápagos Islands and Isle of Rum and the ethics of publicity-driven events impacting protected areas managed by authorities like Parks Canada and national park services in South Africa and India. Debates involve methodological comparisons to structured surveys run by institutions such as the British Trust for Ornithology and calls for capacity building led by organizations including BirdLife International and Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust to increase representation from under-sampled regions like parts of Central Africa, Central Asia, and Pacific Islands.

Category:Birdwatching events