You don’t have to be an expert bird watcher to join in the Great Backyard Bird Count. You don’t even have to live in the United States or Canada to participate anymore. This year, anyone, anywhere, can take part in the GBBC.
The next Great Backyard Bird Count will be held from Feb. 15-18, 2013.
The Great Backyard Bird Count is a 4-day annual event that captivates bird watchers and nature enthusiasts of all ages. It takes as little as 15 minutes for one day, or as much time as you wish to spend counting the birds you see for up to all four days of the event. You don’t even have to leave the house. Simply set a time limit, then count the number of birds of each species you see in your yard, on your deck, or at your bird feeder. Or make an afternoon of it and take the family or invite others to join in the count at the park or other area nearby.
As the GBBC grows in popularity, more and more nature centers, zoos and parks are conducting local festivals, walks or meet-up groups before the count. Click here for more information.
You will be helping the birds
Submitting a checklist of the birds you have seen will help scientists to study the birds. Bird populations are forever changing, and no one person can keep track of the number of birds in each region, how the weather affects their migration, bird populations which may be decreasing, and where the flocks move to, and why. The more data scientists receive, the more these factors can be studied, and birds helped.
You can also submit photos of the birds you have seen.
Beginning in 2013, GBBC checklists will be accepted from anywhere in the world!
To participate, please go to the birdsource.org/ GBBC website and set up an account.
It is free and it is fun. Check out the map showing last years bird count. In 2012, in the U.S. and Canada, 14,285 checklists were submitted, 623 species observed, and over 17 million total individual birds were counted. And now this year the count will be global!
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