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| A Florida Scrub Jay wants to be counted |
You'll count the birds you see for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the count, then enter your checklist at BirdCount.org. The data you provide will help scientists learn how the pattern of bird life is changing throughout the world.
The first year of the Great Backyard Bird Count in 1998 was an unexpected success, according to Marshall Illiff, a staff member of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Cornell co-sponsors the count with the National Audubon Society.
Participation in the project has grown each year. Last February, 163,763 bird watchers from more than 100 countries submitted checklists containing the names of 5,689 species—more than half of the known bird species in the world.
"The Great Backyard Bird Count is a great way to introduce people to participation in citizen science," says Gary Langham, chief scientist and vice president of the National Audubon Society.
Similar surveys—including the Christmas Bird Count and the Breeding Bird Count—help scientists add to the knowledge base about population fluctuations, migration patterns and how the changing global climate is affecting bird life.
An estimated 100,000 Snow Geese were seen at Nazareth Quarry in Northampton County just before Christmas. The flock was by far the greatest concentration of Snow Geese ever seen in the Lehigh Valley. The previous record occurred during the winter of 2005-2006 when 30,000 Snow Geese were reported, according to Birds of the Lehigh Valley and Vicinity, a guidebook published by the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society.
Reports of huge numbers of Snow Geese have come in from just about every corner of the Lehigh Valley. But the birds won't be here much longer. They breed in northern Canada and soon will begin their migration northward.
Other species uncommon to Lehigh Valley winters may turn up in your backyard this year. Red-breasted Nuthatches usually spend their winters in Virginia and points south. This season, however, you may find them in backyards at bird feeders, where they consume peanuts, sunflower seeds and suet. You may also see them this year in parks, woodlands and orchards.
Remember the winter of 2013-2014 when Snowy Owls made an unexpected but welcome appearance in the Lehigh Valley? The ghostly predator was included in the lists of Christmas and Backyard bird counts. Why the birds suddenly appeared and why they haven't returned in a mystery that scientists puzzle over. The birds breed in the Arctic in summer. According to one hypothesis, Snowy Owls may have run short of mice and other food in Canada and sought food much farther south than they normally do.
How do I participate?
Bird watchers of all ages are welcome. You can count birds from the window of your home or you can walk outdoors in parks, school playgrounds, woodlands, or the banks of rivers or lakes—anywhere birds might be seen.
To begin, visit the Great Backyard Bird Count's website, gbbc.birdcount.org/get-started.
On the righthand side of the screen, you'll see a toolkit that will explain the instructions and display a slide show. Links will provide you an opportunity to create your own checklist which you can print out and use to record your findings as you watch. The list can be customized to your postal code, town or national park.
Then enter the results of your list online. You don't have to enter all of your reports at once. You can add species or numbers of birds each time for each counting period, whether it is on different days or in different locations.
You'll be asked to create a free account for Ebird.org so you can enter your data. The advantage here is that you can continue to report bird sightings all year long if you wish. Entering the data is easy. The instructions walk you through the steps.
You can even submit your favorite photographs of birds that you've seen during the count.
What birds might I see?
That will vary depending on your locale, habitat and time of day. Generally speaking, in North America, the species most commonly seen on last February's bird checklists were:
Dark-eyed Junco, 63,110Northern Cardinal, 62,323
Mourning Dove, 49,630
Downy Woodpecker, 47,393
Blue Jay, 45,383
American Goldfinch, 43,204
House Finch, 41,667
Tufted Titmouse, 38,130
Black-capped Chickadee, 37,923
American Crow, 37,277
By far, Pennsylvania submitted more bird checklists to the Great Backyard Bird Count than any other state except California. A total of 8,705 checklists were sent to BirdCount.org from Pennsylvania. A total of 137 different species were reported.
Northampton County
In last February's Great Bird Count, the watchers saw these backyard birds:
European Starling, 227
Brown-headed Cowbird, 152
Mourning Doves, 52
House Sparrow, 50
American Goldfinch, 50
Dark-eyed Junco, 40
White-throated Sparrow, 35
Tufted Titmouse, 27
Common Grackle, 20
Northern Cardinal, 16
Altogether, 72 species of birds were reported throughout Northampton County from a range of locations, including backyards, quarries, rivers, canal towpaths and environmental preserves. The highest counts included American Crows, Snow Geese, Canada Geese, Ring-billed Gulls, European Starlings, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Herring Gulls, Mallard, Mourning Doves and American Goldfinches.
Lehigh County
Watchers saw these backyard birds last February in Lehigh County:
European Starling, 15
Dark-eyed Junco, 74
House Sparrow, 53
Mourning Dove, 44
White-throated Sparrow, 38
America Robin, 34
Song Sparrow, 34
Rock Pigeon, 25
Northern Cardinal, 22
House Finch, 18
As in Northampton County, watchers reported bird species from a wide variety of locations. Altogether, 73 different species were reported in Lehigh County. The highest counts included Canada Geese, European Starlings, Mallards, Dark-eyed Juncos, American Crows, House Sparrows, Mourning Doves, White-throated Sparrows, Ring-billed Gulls and American Robins.
What species of birds will you see next week? Maybe you'll even be able to add a new bird to your lifetime list of species!
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