Great Backyard Bird Count is February 13-16

Set aside the dates of February 13 through February 16 to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count. The information you collect will play a role in helping scientists identify trends in bird populations.

It's easy to participate. Just count the species and number of birds at any location for at least 15 minutes during the four-day period. Count birds at any location and on as many days as you'd like—one day, two days or all four days. Then enter your sightings on a checklist provided by www.BirdCount.org.

The website explains how to register and how to submit your observations online or by mobile device. It also has suggestions on how to identify "tricky" birds such as different species of sparrows.

The website generates a printout listing all of the species you're likely to see in your community. Just type the ZIP code and you'll have a form for your convenience in tabulating your results. You'd then transfer your information to the website.

The Great Backyard Bird Count is sponsored jointly by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society.

Gary Langham, chief scientist for the Audubon Society, says some trends are expected this year.

"It may be a big year for finches," Langham said. "GBBC participants in North America should be on the lookout for larger number of Pine Siskins and redpolls. These birds also should push farther south."

Langham said pine cone seed crops fell short of these birds' needs in the far north of Canada.


2014 results

Last year bird watchers from 135 countries submitted more than 144,000 checklists. The United States and Canada led in the count, followed by India, Australia and Mexico.

The top 10 species reported on the most checklists in North America were the Northern Cardinal, Dark-eyed Junco, Mourning Dove, Blue Jay, Downy Woodpecker, American Goldfinch, American Crow, House Finch, Tufted Titmouse and House Sparrow.

Looking at it another way, the most numerous individual species were the Red-winged Blackbird, at number one, followed by the Snow Goose and the Canada Goose, at more than 1 million individual species each. Rounding out the top 10 list were the European Starling, Mallard, Ring-billed Gull, Dark-eyed Junco, American Coot, American Crow and American Goldfinch.

Pennsylvania ranked number three in the number of states participating in the count.


Invite school students to participate

The Great Backyard Bird Count can spark children's curiosity in birds and the natural world—and demonstrate how science works. Educators can participate in one of two webinars scheduled for Wednesday, February 4. The first is late in the afternoon; the second is early in the evening. A link to the educators page is located on the main website. It contains resource materials that teachers can use in the classroom.