Great Backyard Bird Count
February 12th, 2010
Have a backyard bird feeder? Like to go for a walk in the woods or along a lakefront? Or do you like to birdwatch wherever you are?
If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, you can participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count, taking place this weekend, February 12th-15th. The data collected are important to orinthologists as they study bird migrations and populations from year-to-year. According to the site,
Bird populations are constantly changing. No single scientist or team of scientists could hope to keep track of the complicated patterns of movement of so many species over an entire continent. The information from GBBC participants even more valuable as scientists try to learn how birds are affected by environmental changes.
The information you send in can provide the first sign that individual species may be increasing or declining from year to year. It shows how a species’ range expands or shrinks over time. A big change, noted consistently over a period of years, is an indication that something is happening in the environment that is affecting the birds and that should be followed up on. GBBC information also allows us to look at what kinds of birds inhabit different areas, such as cities versus suburban.
All the information from the GBBC and other surveys goes into a massive bird database called the Avian Knowledge Network. AKN now holds 36 million records of bird observations which are used by scientists around the world.
It takes as little as 15 minutes to observe and record your bird sightings. Your observations can be recorded over the course of a day.
At any one time, count the greatest number of each bird species and record that number. Say you count 4 Purple Finches at your feeder in the morning, and then later that afternoon you count only 2. You would record 4 as the greatest number (don’t add the numbers together).
You have until March 1st to record your observations on the web site.
As I sit here in my home office, I’ve already observed six different species. What I’m most pleased to discover is that today, for the first time in several years I saw two Black-Capped Chickadees! These cute little birds, along with the American Crow and Blue Jay, were greatly affected by the West Nile Virus, which hit hard in the Chicago area — Skokie and Morton Grove were especially affected by it.
If you’re new to birdwatching, the Great Backyard Bird Count website has tips for identification, especially for discerning the differences between certain species like Sparrows and Finches. If you have kids, it’s a great way to get them involved. You don’t have to observe every day, but the count only takes place this weekend, so start today!
One Response to “Great Backyard Bird Count”
southsideandy February 15th, 2010 at 7:38 pm #
Bummer…my neighbor cut down her apple tree, which apparently served quite a few birds in the winter time, specifically cardinals (or at least one pair). I haven’t seen them all winter, even though I’ve put seed out in my feeder. I saw them last winter. In fact, today I saw the first junco of the winter season too. All I get out on my feeder are house sparrows, house finches and mourning doves. It’s kind of a bummer.
That said, my flowers will get TONS of morning sun now, and I did get a lot of rotten apples in my yard in the fall, so it’s a give and take, I guess.