What Is the Brooklyn Bird Club Birdathon?

Updated

The Brooklyn Bird Club Birdathon is the club's annual team-based bird-counting event, held in celebration of World Migratory Bird Day. According to the club's news announcement, the 2026 Birdathon takes place on Saturday, May 9, 2026. Birders form teams of up to 6 members and count birds. If you want to take part, the club's News section is where the current year's date and participation details are posted.

How the Birdathon works

The format is straightforward: rather than birding solo, you register or organize as a team, then spend the day counting the birds you find. The club frames the event around World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD), which links the count to a broader international moment for migratory bird awareness — the announcement points to worldmigratorybirdday.org for that context.

Key structural points from the club's announcement:

  • Team size: up to 6 members per team
  • Activity: counting birds
  • Timing: aligned with World Migratory Bird Day; the 2026 edition is Saturday, May 9
  • Announcement channel: the "Brooklyn Bird Club News" section of the website

What you need to know before joining

The announcement excerpt covers the team format and date but does not spell out registration steps, fees, or a submission deadline. Those specifics are the kind of detail the club publishes in its News posts as the event approaches, so treat the News page as the authoritative source rather than assuming a fixed process from year to year.

A practical way to prepare:

  1. Check the Brooklyn Bird Club News section for the current Birdathon post.
  2. Confirm the date and any stated sign-up instructions there.
  3. Assemble a team of no more than 6.
  4. Plan your counting day around May 9 (for 2026) and the WMBD framing.

Why the club runs it

The Birdathon sits within a club that describes itself as "Celebrating 100 Years," so the event is part of a long-running institutional tradition rather than a one-off. Pairing the count with World Migratory Bird Day gives participants a shared reason to be out on the same day, and the team structure turns a solo hobby into a group activity.

If your goal is simply to understand the event, the essentials are: it's an annual, team-based bird count of up to 6 people, tied to World Migratory Bird Day, with the 2026 date set for May 9. If your goal is to participate, go to the club's News section for the year's specific instructions before making plans.