Great Backyard Bird Count Begins Friday

First posted on 02-17-2011

Blackbirds made the headlines when a flock of thousands fell from the skies in Beebe New Year’s Eve. Now enthusiasts across the continent are counting the birds–not just blackbirds, but birds of more than 600 species–in the annual Great Backyard Bird Count. The event is Feb. 18-21 and will create an instantaneous snapshot of birdlife across the U.S. and Canada.

Anyone can help by tallying birds for at least 15 minutes on any day of the count. At http://www.birdcount.org, enter the highest number of each species seen at any one time and watch as the tallies grow across the continent. Coordinated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Audubon and Bird Studies Canada, the four-day count typically records more than 10 million observations.

Last year’s participants reported more than 1.8 million American robins, as well as rarities such as the first red-billed tropicbird in the count’s 13-year history.

“Whether people notice birds in backyards, parks, or wilderness areas, we ask that they share their counts at http://www.birdcount.org,” said Judy Braus, Audubon’s senior vice president of education and centers. “It’s fun and rewarding for people of all ages and skill levels.”

“When thousands of people all tell us what they’re seeing, we can detect changes in birds’ numbers and locations from year to year,” said Janis Dickinson, director of citizen science at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

“An isolated event such as the dead birds in Arkansas may be within the range of normal ups and downs for an abundant species like the red-winged blackbird,” Dickinson said. “But the count can serve as an early warning system for worrisome declines in bird populations that result from more widespread problems.”

Dickinson said GBBC counts showed a drop in reports of American crows since 2003, coincidentally occurring with the widespread outbreak of West Nile virus in the U.S. Once ranked among the top four or five most- frequently reported species, crows still are among the top 10 birds reported in the GBBC, although they have dropped in ranking since 2003. This “signal” is consistent with data from the more-intensive Breeding Bird Survey, as well as studies demonstrating declines of 50-75 percent in crow populations in some states after outbreaks of West Nile virus.

Maps from the count have captured the paths of migrating sandhill cranes and recorded the dramatic spread of Eurasian collared-doves. Introduced to the Bahamas in the 1970s, the species was reported in just 8 states during the 1999 GBBC. A decade later, it was reported in 39 states and in Canadian provinces.

“I have joined the Great Backyard Bird Count for the past three years and am really looking forward to doing it again,” said Kathy Bucher of Exira, Iowa. “I really enjoy nature and bird-watching. My mother and I share updates on the birds we see. It’s a fun hobby to share with a loved one!”

For more information, including bird-ID tips, instructions and results, visit http://www.birdcount.org. The count also includes a photo contest and a prize drawing for participants who enter their bird checklists online.

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