What is #DrawABirdDay?
Draw A Bird Day on April 8th has one of the sweetest origin stories of any hashtag holiday. Back in 1943, a seven-year-old girl named Dorie Cooper visited wounded soldiers at a hospital in England. She asked one of them to draw a bird for her. He did, and it lifted his spirits so much that other soldiers started drawing birds too. It became a regular activity at the hospital, and eventually the tradition spread. After Dorie passed away at age ten, the soldiers honored her memory by dedicating April 8th to drawing birds.
Today the hashtag brings together professional artists, casual sketchers, kids, teachers, and anyone who wants to pick up a pencil and try. The whole point is that skill level does not matter - terrible birds are celebrated just as much as beautiful ones. That makes it one of the most welcoming creative hashtags on social media.
Content Ideas for #DrawABirdDay
- Draw a bird and share it - This is the obvious one, and it works every time. Stick figures, watercolors, digital art, crayon drawings - everything counts.
- Show your process - Time-lapse videos of bird drawings perform really well. People love watching something come together from a blank page.
- Run a community challenge - Ask your followers to draw a specific bird (a penguin, a flamingo, a robin) and share with your branded hashtag alongside #DrawABirdDay.
- Tell the origin story - Share Dorie Cooper's story. Most people do not know the history, and it gives your post emotional depth that stands out in a feed full of bird sketches.
- Pair art with bird facts - Draw a bird and include an interesting fact about the species. Educational content with a creative twist does well across platforms.
Best Platforms for #DrawABirdDay
Instagram is the natural home for this hashtag. Post your drawing as a feed post or Reel showing the process. Stories work great for informal sketches and polls ("Which bird should I draw next?"). The visual format makes Instagram the clear winner.
X (Twitter) sees a solid burst of activity on April 8th. Quick phone photos of napkin sketches and notebook doodles do just as well as polished art. The casual vibe of the platform matches the spirit of the day perfectly.
TikTok is ideal for drawing process videos. Speed-draw videos with a satisfying reveal at the end tend to go viral on this day. Add some lo-fi music and you have a winner.
Facebook works well for community groups, especially art groups, teacher groups, and parent groups. Sharing kids' bird drawings gets a lot of love here.
Timing Tips
Post your bird drawing on April 8th - the hashtag is almost entirely concentrated on that single day. If you are planning a process video or community challenge, tease it on April 7th to build anticipation. The hashtag is not big enough to sustain multi-day campaigns, so make your one post count.
Related Hashtags
Combine #DrawABirdDay with #DABDay, #DrawAPictureOfABirdDay, #Art, #Drawing, #BirdArt, #Sketch, #Illustration, #BirdDrawing, and #Creative. If you are posting nature-focused content, add #Birds, #BirdWatching, and #NatureArt.
