2004 Great Backyard Bird Count

From the GBBC Web Site

The 2004 Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) will oc-cur from Feb 13–16 and it needs your help! The GBBC is a joint effort of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society to determine the status of winter bird populations across the continent. Scientists and bird enthusiasts can learn a lot by knowing where the birds are. Bird populations are dynamic, and they are constantly in flux. The GBBC serves as a snapshot of North American bird populations.

Everyone’s contribution is important. It doesn’t matter whether you identify, count, and report the five species coming to your backyard feeder or the 75 species you see during a day’s outing to a wildlife refuge. The data that you collect will be combined with Christmas Bird Count and Project FeederWatch data to give us an immense picture of our winter birds. Every year that this data is collected makes it more important and meaningful.

Participating is easy! All you need is basic knowledge of bird identification and access to the Internet at home, a friend’s house, local library, school, or anywhere you can get access to the web. Then, simply count the birds in your backyard, local park, or other natural area on one or all four count days. You can count in as many different locations as you wish, just make sure to keep separate records and fill out a checklist for each area.

Watch the birds for at least 15 minutes on each day that you participate. We recommend watching for a half-hour or more, so that you’ll have a good sense of what birds are in your area.

Your data will be used by scientists to analyze bird populations, so it is very important that everyone count their birds in exactly the same way. On the day(s) that you count, watch your bird feeders, or take a short walk (less than 1 mile) in your neighborhood or park. For each kind (species) of bird that you see, keep track of the highest number of individuals that you observe at any one time. Use a “Tally Sheet” to help keep track of your counts. Be careful not to count the same bird over and over! Don’t add another Blue Jay to your tally every time you see a Blue Jay at the feeder. You could be seeing the same individual again and again. If you record only the highest number of individual birds that you see in view at one time, you’re sure to never count the same bird more than once!

At the end of the day go to “Submit your bird checklist” on our GBBC web site (http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/). Fill out the questions about your location, local habitat, and count duration. Then enter your high counts for each species sited on that day and location. You can submit one bird checklist for each day that you count or for each new area that you count in.

After you’ve submitted your data, explore the web site. Check the results section to see other reports from your community, and watch as data comes in from other areas. Have a look through our other pages, and find out other ways you can help birds. Enjoy!