February 12, 2009 Issue
Great Backyard Bird Count This Weekend
The Northern cardinal was one of the top ten most commonly reported species in the 2008 Great Backyard Bird Count. Photo courtesy of Jerry Acton and the Great Backyard Bird Count
Looking for a free, educational activity that makes a difference? This weekend, February 13 to 16, join tens of thousands of people throughout the United States and Canada in the 2009 Great Backyard Bird Count. You can count the birds you see in your backyard, off your balcony, at your local park, from your window—anywhere you can spot birds.
People of all ages and all levels of bird-watching experience are invited to take part. You can count by yourself or with your family, community group, school or friends.
It’s easy to participate.
Click to www.birdcount.org for easy-to-follow instructions, including tips for identifying bird species. Download a checklist for your area.
Count the birds you see wherever you choose to count. Write down the highest number of individuals you see at one time—that way you will avoid counting a bird twice.
After at least 15 minutes of watching in one place, report your results online at www.birdcout.org. You can spend more time observing if you prefer.
You can repeat your count at the same place on each day of the Great Backyard Bird Count, or you can visit other locations and submit separate tallies for those areas as well.
You can submit your digital images of birds—or of Great Backyard Bird Count participants—to the online gallery and photo contest, and you can also upload videos to YouTube with the tag GBBC. The best videos will be displayed on the Great Backyard Bird Count website.
The 12th annual Great Backyard Bird Count is hosted by the National Audubon Society and Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Each checklist will contribute valuable information for science and conservation. Every list, short or long, will help scientists understand more about how the distribution and abundance of birds are changing through time.
Last year, participants submitted a record-breaking 85,000 checklists. In 2008, Great Backyard Bird Count participants documented the huge southward movement of northern finches from Canada, as well as the expanding ranges of the Eurasian collared-dove and the red-bellied woodpecker. Some species show up in the reports for the first time, including a masked duck in Texas—a bird that is usually found in the tropics.
Online maps and lists are updated throughout the count, so you can see how your birds fit into the big picture.
So click to www.birdcount.org and get on with the count this weekend.
Top Ten Species in the 2008 GBBC
The following birds were the most commonly reported species in the 2008 Great Backyard Bird Count:
1. Northern cardinal
2. Mourning dove
3. Dark-eyed junco
4. Downy woodpecker
5. American goldfinch
6. Blue jay
7. House finch
8. Tufted titmouse
9. Black-capped chickadee
10. American crow
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