Great Backyard Bird Count under way

Bird watchers coast to coast are taking part in the 13th annual Great Backyard Bird Count which starts today and runs through Monday, President’s Day Weekend. Tens of thousands of volunteers count birds in their backyards, local parks or wildlife refuges.

Each checklist submitted by these “citizen scientists” helps researchers at the National Audubon Society, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada learn more about birds and how to protect them. Last year, participants turned in more than 93,600 checklists online, creating the continent’s largest instantaneous snapshot of bird populations ever recorded.

“Taking part in the Great Backyard Bird Count is a great way to have fun and help birds at the same time,” said Audubon Education Vice President, Judy Braus. “You can provide important information that enables scientists to learn more about how the environment is changing and how that affects our conservation priorities.”

Anyone can take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count, from novice bird watchers to experts. The event is free. Participants count birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the event and report their sightings online at http://www.birdcount.org One 2.009 participant said, “Thank you for the opportunity to participate in citizen science. I have had my eyes opened to a whole new interest and I love it!”

“The GBBC is a perfect first step toward the sort of intensive monitoring needed to discover how birds are responding to environmental change,” said Janis Dickinson, Director of Citizen Science at the Cornell Lab. “Winter is such a vulnerable period for birds, so winter bird distributions are likely to be very sensitive to change. There is only one way—citizen science—to gather data on private lands where people live and the GBBC has been doing this across the continent for many years. GBBC has enormous potential both as an early warning system and in capturing and engaging people in more intensive sampling of birds across the landscape.”

At http://www.birdcount.org participants can explore real-time maps and charts that show what others are reporting during the count. The site has tips to help identify birds and special materials for educators. Participants may also enter the GBBC photo contest by uploading images taken during the count. Many images will be featured in the GBBC website’s photo gallery. All participants are entered in a drawing for prizes that include bird feeders, binoculars, books, CDs, and many other great birding products.

In 2010, Bird Studies Canada (BSC) joins the GBBC as the program’s Canadian partner. “Bird Studies Canada is delighted to be the Canadian partner for this extremely valuable program,” said George Finney, President of BSC. “Participating in the GBBC is an excellent way for Canadians to reconnect with their love of nature and birds.”

For more information about the GBBC, visit the website at http://www.birdcount.org .
Or contact the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at (800) 843-2473, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), or Audubon at (202) 861-2242 ext. 3050, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
In Canada, participants may contact Bird Studies Canada at 1-888-448-2473 ext. 134 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)