Spring Bird Count
**2026 SPRING BIRD COUNT: MAY 9**
The Spring Bird Count (SBC) is an annual bird count conducted by volunteers on the Saturday between May 4 and May 10. The censuses are conducted in all 102 counties in Illinois; however, in any given year, a few counties are not censused.
Each county has a compiler responsible for recruiting volunteers and assigning them areas to count within their county. This is especially important to avoid duplicate coverage of an area. Compilers also tabulate all data collected within their county and send it to the state compiler. Volunteers record all birds seen or heard, along with the number of hours they spend “owling” (pre-dawn hours), the number of hours spent looking for birds during the day, the number of miles driven in a car, and the number of miles walked.
Spring Bird Count Methods
Each county has a compiler responsible for recruiting volunteers and assigning them areas to count within their county. This is especially important to avoid duplicate coverage of an area. Compilers also tabulate all data collected within their county and send it to the state compiler. Volunteers record all birds seen or heard, along with the number of hours they spend “owling” (pre-dawn hours), the number of hours spent looking for birds during the day, the number of miles driven in a car, and the number of miles walked.