Join the great backyard bird count

REGION — Nature fans throughout North America are invited to join tens of thousands of everyday bird watchers for the 12th annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) on Friday, February 13 to Monday, February 16. A joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, this free event is an opportunity for families, students and people of all ages to make an important contribution to conservation. Participants count birds and report their sightings online at birdcount.org.

Anyone can take part, from novice bird watchers to experts, by counting birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the event and reporting their sightings online at birdcount.org. Participants can also explore what birds others are finding in their backyards all around the country. Additional online resources include tips to help identify birds, a photo gallery and special materials for educators.

The data helps researchers understand bird population trends, information that is critical for effective conservation. Their efforts enable everyone to see what would otherwise be impossible: a comprehensive picture of where birds are in late winter and how their numbers and distribution compare with previous years. In 2008, participants submitted more than 85,000 checklists.

“The GBBC has become a vital link in the arsenal of continent-wide bird-monitoring projects,” said Cornell Lab of Ornithology director John Fitzpatrick. “With more than a decade of data now in hand, the GBBC has documented the fine-grained details of late-winter bird distributions better than any project in history, including some truly striking changes just over the past decade.”

Each year, in addition to entering their tallies, participants submit thousands of digital images for the GBBC photo contest. Many are featured in the popular online gallery. Participants in the 2009 count are also invited to upload their bird videos to YouTube; some will also be featured on the GBBC web site. Visit birdcount.org to learn more.

For more information call 800/843-2473.