The Great Backyard Bird Count

The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are.

And for the first time, this year participants from all over the world will be able to submit checklists, so my dad in England will be able to join in too.

The following is taken from the GBBC website:

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Everyone is welcome--from beginning bird watchers to experts. It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count for as long as you like each day of the event. It’s free, fun, and easy—and it helps the birds.

Participants tally the number of individual birds of each species they see during their count period and enter these numbers on the GBBC website.

All you have to do is set up a free GBBC account to submit your checklists or use login information from an existing account if you've taken part before. Visit the How to Participate page for more details.

As the count progresses, anyone with Internet access can explore what is being reported from their own towns or, for the first time this year,  from anywhere in the world.

Participants may also send in photographs of the birds they see for the GBBC photo contest. A selection of images is posted in the online photo gallery.

Why count birds?

Scientists and bird enthusiasts can learn a lot by knowing where the birds are. Bird populations are dynamic; they are constantly in flux. No single scientist or team of scientists could hope to document and understand the complex distribution and movements of so many species in such a short time.

Scientists use the GBBC information, along with observations from other citizen-science projects, such as the Christmas Bird Count, Project FeederWatch, and eBird, to get the “big picture” about what is happening to bird populations.

The longer these data are collected, the more meaningful they become in helping scientists investigate far-reaching questions, like these:
• How will the weather influence bird populations?

• Where are winter finches and other “irruptive” species that appear in large numbers during some years but not others?

• How will the timing of birds’ migrations compare with past years?

• How are bird diseases, such as West Nile virus, affecting birds in different regions?

• What kinds of differences in bird diversity are apparent in cities versus suburban, rural, and natural areas?

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I know in our particular garden, our bird population has been greatly affected by the loss of habitat around us.  Thankfully, there's still a hedgerow on the other side of the road behind our house.  If that goes, I'm sure the rest of the birds will be gone too :-(

It will be interesting to see how this year's numbers stack up against the previous three years that I have participated.




Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

The Great Backyard Bird Count - 2012

After being woken up by an impressive thunderstorm in which we got a reported 1.7 inches of rain, I wondered if perhaps I might have to take a rain check for the Great Backyard Bird Count.

However, it had more or less stopped raining by 7 am and when I stepped outside to put birdseed along the (soggy) fence, there were already a throng of birds out there, pecking around on the ground.

I ate breakfast and had some coffee and by 8 I was ready to start my official count.

Although it was cold and grey out there, it wasn't actually raining and conditions were pretty good for the count.  The birds certainly seemed willing to cooperate, anyway:-)  I counted from the comfort of the dining room.

Most populous were the Chipping Sparrows, but the photo above  was the only photo I managed to snap of them.

Here are my totals as submitted for 2012:

23 Chipping Sparrows

15 House Sparrows

6 Mourning Doves

3 White-Winged Doves

1 Carolina Chickadee(I think I saw two really, but you have to count the total number you see at one time, not a cumulative total)

4 Blue Jays

6 Northern Cardinals

1 Northern Mockingbird

1 Red-Bellied Woodpecker

2 Downy Woodpeckers

4 (Too many) Brown-headed cowbirds - later, after I had submitted my tally, I counted even more of them.

We have at least three pairs of Northern Cardinals that nest nearby, in spite of the loss of habitat either side.  None of them have chosen to occupy the Cardinal nesting shelf we put up yet, but perhaps they will this spring.

 The White-Winged Doves and Mourning Doves were quite content to share the seeds along the back wall.

 And they shared with Mrs. Cardinal and Mr. Brown-Headed (you're not welcome in my garden) Cowbird.

And they also shared with -- hmmmm, can't quite place the species of the rather strange and hairy bird in the middle of the photo....


We're supposed to have lovely weather tomorrow, so I'm going to count again tomorrow.  You can join in too -- Great Backyard Bird Count



Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

Are You Ready for the Great Backyard Bird Count?

This year's Great Backyard Bird Count runs from Friday, February 17th through Monday, February 20th.

This will be my third year participating, and I have to say I'm excited about it.

 Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Simon Tan, Texas

The idea behind this "Citizen Science" project is to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. This can provide answers to questions such as how the cold winters in some areas are influencing bird populations, and  how the timing of bird migrations compares to previous years.

 It's simple to do, it's fun and it's FREE.

You can count for as little as 15 minutes, or as long as you like each day of the event.  You count the highest number of birds of each species seen together at any one time and report your findings online checklist at the Great Backyard Bird Count website.

Click here for more details on how to participate.

As the count progresses, you can keep track online and see reports from your area and around the country.  I live in fairly small town north of Houston and last year I think there were two other people from my area who filed reports.  It would be interesting to know who they were! 

Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.