COIMBATORE: To help people better understand birds, the four-day Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) will commence across the country on Friday.
Participation is expected to rise this year, driven by growing interest among children, adults, senior citizens, and women.
In 2024, participants from 511 districts across the country documented their sightings on the eBird online platform, and the number of districts increased to 533 in 2025. Similarly, 1,036 bird species were recorded during the 2024 GBBC survey, rising to 1,086 species in 2025.
Participation has also seen a steady rise. While 5,334 birdwatchers took part in 2024, the number increased to 6,500 in 2025. Participation has consistently grown since the GBBC was introduced in India in 2013.
In Tamil Nadu, over 350 bird species were recorded during GBBC India 2024, while 369 species were sighted during the four-day GBBC in 2025.
Bird enthusiasts noted that India ranked second globally in terms of participation in the 2024 edition of the exercise.
"Watch birds for at least 15 minutes in your neighbourhood, campus, park, or any place you enjoy. Identify and count birds and upload your observations on eBird. It doesn't matter if you cannot identify every species. Birding is both entertaining and informative. It helps us understand how birds are distributed and whether their populations are stable, growing, or declining over time," said K Selvaganesh, the Tamil Nadu coordinator.
Last year, birdwatchers conducted surveys across 270 campuses — including educational institutions, government departments, research stations, biological parks, and corporate offices - across the country. Organisers said that participation is expected to surpass last year's, with birding activities planned across 392 campuses this year. Among the most commonly spotted birds were the white-cheeked barbet, black kite, spotted dove, common hawk-cuckoo, and red-whiskered bulbul.
Organisers have appealed to bird enthusiasts to introduce new participants to birding by offering basic guidance, rather than focusing solely on spotting higher numbers of species and submitting more numbers of checklists.