Almost Time for the Great Backyard Bird Count/Bird Photos

Welcome back.

Let's start off with a couple of photos from this past weekend:

Black-Capped Chickadee

White-Breasted Nuthatch

Time is flying by and it's almost time again for the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC):

This is a great opportunity to get involved in the science of bird watching and also to possibly spark an interest in a new hobby for yourself or family members.

So what exactly is the Great Backyard Bird Count?  Below are some excerpts from http://gbbc.birdcount.org/.

Launched in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, the Great Backyard Bird Count was the first online citizen-science project to collect data on wild birds and to display results in near real-time.

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 information from the Great Backyard Bird Count, along with observations from other citizen-science projects, 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 and climate change influence bird populations?

• Some birds, such as winter finches, appear in large numbers during some years but not others. Where are these species from year to year, and what can we learn from these patterns?

• 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?

Want to participate?  Below are some instructions also taken from the Great Backyard Bird Count Website:

So get involved in research, sign up for the GBBC.  I guarantee you and your family will enjoy it.

Unti next time.