The third annual Global Big Day takes place on May 13, 2017. The term traditionally applies to any effort to identify as many bird species as possible in a single day. Bird watchers around the world are invited to watch and count birds for any length of time on that day and enter their observations online at eBird.org.

“The past two Global Big Days have set back-to-back world records for the most bird species seen in a single day,” says Chris Wood at the Cornell Lab. “During last year’s Global Big Day bird watchers from more than 150 countries tallied more than 60 percent of the world’s bird species.”

This year, the Lab’s competitive birding team, Team Sapsucker, is conducting its own Big Day on the Yucatán Peninsula, an area they describe as one of the most stunning and important areas for birds. The team’s goal is to identify an ambitious 300 bird species by sight or sound, while raising $475,000 in pledges to support the Cornell Lab’s research, education, and conservation programs.

To learn more about participating in Global Big Day click here.

Illustration: Yucatan Jay, by Luke Seitz.