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World Migratory Bird Day
It’s a day to appreciate and protect migratory birds!
© Tom Murray
Saturday October 10, 2026, is World Migratory Bird Day, a celebration of one of our planet’s most marvelous natural phenomena. It occurs twice a year, on the second Saturday of May and October, in observance of peak spring and fall migration in the Americas. This year’s theme is “Every Bird Counts,” which highlights the importance of community science to migratory bird conservation worldwide.
BirdNote®
World Migratory Bird Day
Written by Ariana Remmel
This is BirdNote.
Tomorrow is World Migratory Bird Day, a biannual celebration of one of our planet’s most ancient and marvelous phenomena.
[New York forest dawn chorus]
Roughly one third of bird species migrate between their breeding and non-breeding territories.
Migration lets birds get the most out of their environment throughout the year, like access to abundant food and primo breeding sites.
While some species travel short distances, others embark on epic expeditions.
[Blackpoll Warbler song]
A Blackpoll Warbler that spent the summer rearing chicks in the forests of northern Canada may winter in the tropics of southern Colombia — migrating thousands of miles over land and sea every spring and fall.
Migration is inherently exhausting and risky, but human disturbance is making it even more dangerous. A new study estimates that more than half of all migratory birds are declining globally due to habitat loss, domestic cats, building collisions, and other threats.
Keeping cats inside and turning off lights at night — especially during migration — are steps you can take today to offer migratory birds safe passage on their miraculous journeys home.
[New York forest dawn chorus]
Learn more about World Migratory Bird Day at our website, BirdNote.org. I’m Ariana Remmel.
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Senior Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Ariana Remmel
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. New York forest dawn chorus [ML521616311] and Blackpoll Warbler [ML163329] recorded by Matthew D. Medler.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2026 BirdNote October 2026
Narrator: Ariana Remmel
ID# wmbd-02-2026-10-09 wmbd-02
Reference:
https://www.migratorybirdday.org/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s44358-026-00177-7
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/the-basics-how-why-and-where-of-bird-migration/
Ariana Remmel
Writer NarratorSights & Sounds
