SCOTT SHALAWAY Great Backyard Bird Count gathers data on many species

If you enjoy feeding and watching backyard birds, but have never been able to commit to a full season of Project FeederWatch, the Great Backyard Bird Count may be for you.
Sponsored by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, the seventh annual Great Backyard Bird Count, Feb. 13-16, is a continent-wide citizen science research project.
The GBBC enlists birders of all skill levels in this effort to keep common birds common.
Last year these "citizen scientists" turned in 47,740 lists reporting a total of 573 species consisting of 4,204,058 individual birds.
Take a few minutes
"We're asking everyone, everywhere in North America to take a few minutes to tell us what birds they see on any or all of the count days," says John Fitzpatrick, director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "By tracking changes in bird distribution and abundance over time, such a vast database can serve as the SOS signal for species that may be in trouble."
The GBBC can help with basic questions about birds in the United States.
Of special concern this year in the wake of the rapid spread of the West Nile virus are the status of American crows, chickadees, and titmice. Last year Illinois and Ohio counts reported alarmingly fewer crows, and I've heard from many readers over the last 12 months concerned about the absence of chickadees and titmice. Currently there's no explanation of these ups and downs.
To participate, log on to www.birdsource.org/gbbc/, and follow the instructions. Counters simply tally the highest number of each bird species seen at one time (to ensure birds are not counted more than once), and keep track of the time spent counting.
To simplify the process, you can click on your state for a checklist of the most frequently reported birds in your area. The count is free.
Updated hourly
Results are updated hourly and this near-instant feedback allows participants to see how their observations fit into the continental perspective. Results from previous GBBCs are also available online.
Because the GBBC reports its results in real time, scientists can quickly detect interesting relationships between weather and bird movements. For example, in some winters robins have been reported farther north than usual. Turns out snow cover was the key. Where snow cover was scant, robins occurred farther north than expected. Perhaps heavy snow makes food difficult to find and drives robins south.
The GBBC also helps track the movements of northern finches. Evening grosbeaks, common redpolls, and pine siskins, for example, move southward in great numbers some winters. "We think they irrupt southward biennially, as a result of a lack of food seeds on what is typically their year-round ranges," Fitzpatrick explains. "But much of this phenomenon remains a mystery that participants in the GBBC can help us solve."
The GBBC web site is also a valuable resource for all birders, especially students. The GBBC in general is a terrific way for individuals, families, schools, and community groups to contribute to a better understanding of birds. In return, counters learn more about birds. It's a win-win project.
For more information about the GBBC or the Lab of Ornithology, contact the Lab at 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, NY 14850, or call (800) 843-2473.
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