October Big Day—10 Oct 2026 by Team eBird

Mark your calendars for October Big Day—10 Oct 2026! Like Global Big Day, October Big Day is an opportunity to celebrate our shared love of birds. Last October, 900,000 people united for a single day of birding. Can we beat that number and make this year the first October Big Day with more than a million people enjoying birds together?

Wherever you are on 10 October, take a few minutes to enjoy birds and share what you find. Participate from anywhere—even from home! By taking part in October Big Day you’re also celebrating Global Bird Weekend and World Migratory Bird Day. Be a part of the global team and help set new records for October birding.

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How to Participate

1. Get an account: Whether you share your bird observations through eBird or Merlin, you’ll need an account. The same account works for both apps. If you don’t already have one, sign up here—it’s 100% free from start to finish.
2. Go birding on 10 October: It’s that simple. You don’t need to be a bird expert or go out all day long, even 10 minutes of birding from home counts. October Big Day runs from midnight to midnight in your local time zone. You can report what you find from anywhere in the world.
3. Share what you find: Log your October Big Day observations with eBird or Merlin to make them count! Make sure to submit your observations before 13 October to be included in the official results.
4. Document your experience: Snap a photo or video of your birding adventure and tag @Merlin.Bird.ID or @team_eBird with #OctoberBigDay to be part of the global celebration. We’ll be featuring stories and birders from around the world throughout the day!
5. Watch the results roll in: During the day, follow along with bird observations from more than 200 countries in real-time on our October Big Day page.

>> Continue reading @ ebird.org

Happy World Shorebird Day!!

World Shorebird Day 2026 reminds us of the extraordinary journeys shorebirds undertake—and the urgent need to protect them. This year’s Global Shorebird Counts (Sept 1–7) and World Shorebird Day (Sept 6) invite birders worldwide to contribute observations, strengthening a growing record of migration and change. For Barbados, the day is deeply symbolic. On September 4th, the last known Eskimo Curlew was shot here, a haunting reminder of how quickly species can vanish. The premiere of the Cornell Lab documentary "The Last Curlew" brought together government, NGOs and local interest with a promise of changes in an effort to help prevent another tragic Eskimo Curlew story. Its story is not just history—it is a warning.

By joining to celebrating shorebirds still with us and participating in the counts, we honor their resilience and commit to safeguarding their fragile pathways.

The Last Curlew – Barbados & International Premiere

Digital depiction of an Eskimo curlew by USFWS/Christina Nelson
(https://medium.com/)

On Friday, September 4, 2026, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s documentary The Last Curlew will premiere at the Barbados Museum and Historical Society.

This date carries a heavy resonance. It was on September 4th, 1963, that the last known Eskimo Curlew (Numenius borealis) was shot in a shooting swamp here in Barbados—a tragic end to a species once celebrated for its epic migrations across the Americas. Now, on that very anniversary, this film returns to the island to honor the bird’s memory and remind us of the fragility of migratory life.

In a nation still hunts shorebirds, The Last Curlew seeks transforms loss into reflection, urging us to protect the species that still depend on these same flyways.

Hosted by the Barbados Museum and Historical Society in partnership with the Barbados Shorebird Conservation Trust, the premiere will also be livestreamed at youtube.com/@thebarbadosmuseum.  Don't miss it