2024 Great Backyard Bird Count at the Garden

February 17, 10 am-2 pm

Bird’s the word this February at the Garden! Join us on February 17 as we celebrate the annual Great Backyard Bird Count, an inter-organizational effort between the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Audubon Society, and Birds Canada. Learn more about this global effort at birdcount.org. 

Attendees can assist the Garden record & count birds, enjoy a self-guided bird scavenger hunt, learn how to use the Merlin Bird ID App, and children will receive binoculars to decorate & take home during this fun day your whole flock will leave raven about. We’ll even have food trucks on-site for a picnic lunch. Plus don’t miss the family-friendly presentations, Great Horned Owls: Hiding in Plain Sight, from 10-11:30 am, and Exploring the World of Native Birds, from 12:30-1:30 pm.

Great Horned Owls: Hiding in Plain Sight
10-11:30 am

Join us for a family-friendly presentation by Mark Glenshaw, an award-winning naturalist, on Great Horned Owls. Mark has been studying this species of owl in Forest Park, a large urban park in St. Louis, Missouri for over 18 years – and has an impressive collection of photos, personal stories, and fascinating facts that will entertain and educate you about this species. 

Exploring the World of Native Birds
12:30-1:30 pm

Join MBG Horticulturists Anna Vo and Adam Gann as they take attendees on a guided walk through the Woodlands. There you will learn how to find birds, how to tell birds apart, and how to identify them by color, markings, and calls! Grab your binoculars and come explore.

All activities are free with Garden admission, and no registration is required.

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Please note: The Merlin Bird ID App is not required to participate, but if you would like to use it, it can be downloaded at https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/