October Big Day—Alaska
The October Big Day is just a few days away! This Saturday, October 9th, birders in Alaska will participate in this 24-hour event to celebrate birds and represent the Alaskan birding community. By taking part in the October Big Day, you’re also joining the second-ever Global Bird Weekend and celebrating World Migratory Bird Day.
While species diversity in Alaska is low in October, this date allows birders to look for many of the important resident and wintering species the state supports. This date is also over a week earlier than in 2020, allowing for birders to find more lingering migrants. From a global perspective, there are a few species that Alaskan birders have the best opportunity to record for the event. Birders should try to track down these species, so they are not missed on the Big Day.
Alaska Targets
During the 2020 October Big Day in Alaska, which occurred on Oct. 17, 2020, 88 birders in Alaska recorded 140 species on 198 checklists. This was the most users, checklists, and species ever recorded on an October Big Day in Alaska. Let’s try to break these records in 2021!
In 2020, some of the biggest misses for the state were: Emperor Goose (a species not recorded anywhere in the world on October Big Day in 2020!), Cackling Goose, Eurasian Wigeon, Willow Ptarmigan, Rock Ptarmigan, White-tailed Ptarmigan, Sooty Grouse, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Black-bellied Plover, Pacific Golden-Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher. Finding these species this Saturday will help increase our total Alaska list for October Big Day in 2021!
How to participate
- Get an eBird account: eBird is a worldwide bird checklist program used by millions of birders. It’s what allows us to compile everyone’s sightings into a single massive October Big Day list—while at the same time collecting the data for scientists to use to better understand birds. Sign up here. It’s 100% free.
- Watch birds on 9 October. It’s that simple! October Big Day runs from midnight to midnight in your local time zone. You don’t need to be a bird expert or go out all day long. You can report birds from anywhere in the world—even 10 minutes in your backyard helps!
- Enter what you see and hear on eBird: You can enter your sightings via our website or—even easier—download the free eBird Mobile app. The app allows you to keep and submit lists while you’re still out birding, explore nearby Hotspots, and will even track how far you’ve walked so you can focus on watching birds. Please submit your checklists before 13 October to be included in the initial results announcement from eBird.
- Watch the sightings roll in: During the day, keep an eye on how the lists are growing in different parts of the world. Follow along with reports from more than 160 countries. Stats will be updated in real-time on eBird’s October Big Day page.