During the weekend of Feb. 18-21, people across the North American continent are encouraged to count the birds in their backyards and report them over the Internet as part of the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), one of the world’s largest volunteer efforts of its kind.
In addition to its value as a research study, the GBBC allows people of all ages and backgrounds to celebrate birds and provide vital information about North America’s bird populations, according to a press release from the Monmouth County Audubon Society.
For more than a decade, the GBBC has kept tabs on the ever-changing patterns of birds in winter. How far north will American robins be reported this year? Native redbellied woodpeckers have been spreading to the northeast – will the trend continue?
Scientists also want more information on declining species, such as rusty blackbirds and painted buntings. While these species are suffering due to the continued destruction of their preferred habitats, other factors, such as mercury accumulation in rusty blackbirds, and removal of painted buntings for the illegal cage bird industry, may make a bad situation worse, according to the press release.
People of all ages and experience levels are invited to take part wherever they are — at home, in schoolyards, at local parks or wildlife refuges, even counting birds on a balcony. Observers count the highest number of each species they see during at least 15 minutes on one or more of the count days. Then they enter their tallies on the GBBC website, www.birdcount.org.
The website provides helpful hints for identifying birds. Participants can compare results from their town or region with others, as checklists pour in from throughout the United States and Canada. They can also view bird photos taken by participants during the count and send in their own digital images for the online photo gallery and contest.
In 2010, Great Backyard Bird Count participants made history, breaking records for the number of birds reported, and the number of checklists. Participants sent in more than 97,000 checklists.
This is the 14th year of the popular event, developed and managed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, with sponsorship from Wild Birds Unlimited store owners.
Instructions for participating can be found at www.birdsource.org/gbbc. There is no fee or registration. Those who would like to participate but who are not online can access computers at their local library, and many Wild Birds Unlimited store owners who are online will be accepting observations made by their customers, including the store on Route 35, Middletown. Volunteers from the Monmouth County Audubon Society will be monitoring bird feeders for much of the weekend at the Manasquan Reservoir Environmental Center, Howell. The public is welcome to come help, ask questions and learn more about the GBBC and birds in general.
The Monmouth County Audubon Society will accept checklists for participants who do not have access to the Internet. Information about membership in the Monmouth County Audubon Society also will be available.
The Monmouth County Audubon Society, a chapter of the National Audubon Society, is dedicated to the enjoyment and study of nature, wildlife conservation, habitat protection, and education.