Take part in the 2019 World Shorebird Census

Now that September is here, it’s time to count the shorebirds! World Shorebird Day 2019 is Friday, September 6.

This year, the World Shorebird Count will take place September 3-9, 2019. Wherever you live, we encourage you to participate. Shorebirds are threatened by habitat loss, human activities and sea level rise, so it is important for bird watchers to monitor them.

You can participate by counting shorebirds wherever shorebirds are normally found. While the birds certainly inhabit shorelines and beaches, they can also be found in freshwater and inland grasslands or even semi-deserts. Count shorebirds at as many different locations as possible. Organizers only need one set of comprehensive checklists per site; you decide which one to share with them.

Use eBird

Entrants should use eBird to share count results from global shorebird counts. “eBird has repeatedly proven its incredible contribution to bird conservation and our efforts have been of great help to the eBird team to better understand bird migration and population changes,” writes Gyorgy Szimuly, Head of World Shorebird Day.

If you’re new to eBird, sign up here. And if you need more information, here’s why you should eBird.

See dozens of bird migration maps from eBird

Share checklists

Sharing the checklist is simple, but if you need guidance, eBird has the perfect tutorial to do it. Please use the eBird username worldshorebirdsday (without spaces) to share checklists. You can already share field checklists from the eBird mobile app. Just add World Shorebird Day to your contacts.

Banded birds

Be sure to be on the lookout for banded birds! Especially Piping Plovers, Red Knots, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Ruddy Turnstones and Sanderlings. You can report your observations to BandedBirds.org and the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory, who oversee all ringing in the United States.

BirdWatching is proud to support World Shorebird Day and the Global Shorebird Count.