National Bird Day (United States)

National Bird Day is on January 5 each year, as it’s scheduled to coincide with the end of the annual Christmas Bird Count. The Christmas Bird Count has been going on for more than a decade. It lasts three weeks and is the longest running citizen science survey in the world that helps to monitor the health of our nation’s birds. Birders and the public go out and count as many birds as they can see during the count.

The reason National Bird Day falls on January 5 is that, for three weeks, the country is focused on native birds and wild populations. Once that period ends, we begin to focus on captive birds (who mainly consist of bird species that are native to other countries, but who are kept in captivity in the U.S.). January 5 is the new beginning for captive birds!

National Bird Day is an annual holiday with half a million adherents who celebrate through birdwatching, studying birds, smoking birds, bird drinking games including ’bird date’ and other bird-gang activities. Bird adoption is a particularly important National Bird Day activity. According to the newspaper Atlanta Journal-Constitution, many bird enthusiasts celebrate by adopting birds and by educating future bird owners about the special issues involved with taking care of birds, including their "screaming, biting, constant cleanups, the need for daily interaction and a varied diet".