Syracuse, NY -- For four days in February, you can become a “citizen scientist” and help real scientists learn more about birds.
The Great Backyard Bird Count happens Feb. 12 to 15. On any or all of those days, kids and adults across North America will watch their backyards, schoolyards, parks and wildlife refuges to identify and count the birds they see.
You can let others know what birds you find by using Twitter.com. Use the hashtag #gbbc
The amount of time spent watching for birds is up to each individual or group. It can be as little as 15 minutes or as much as the entire day.
The information collected will be added to a giant database that helps scientists track bird populations over time.
“Bird populations fluctuate a lot,” said Pat Leonard, coordinator of the Great Backyard Bird Count for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a co-sponsor of the event with the National Audubon Society. “When it’s down one year and up the next, you can’t infer too much. Over time, you can tell if it’s really a change or a trend.”
The data can be used to see how snow and cold affect bird populations; whether birds are migrating earlier or later than in the past; how bird populations vary from cities to suburbs to rural areas; and whether there are any worrisome declines in bird populations that point to the need for conservation measures.
When enough data is amassed, scientists may be able to draw some conclusions about global warming, she said.
This will be the 13th backyard bird count. It’s done in February because it’s easier to see birds when there are no leaves on the trees and it captures the locations of birds before they start migrating in March.
Some preparation is helpful.
“Most people know more about their backyard birds than they realize,” Leonard said. “Everyone knows what a blue jay, a cardinal or a chickadee looks like.”
You can brush up on these and other species you are likely to see — house finches, tree sparrows, downy woodpeckers, hairy woodpeckers — by consulting a field guide for New York state. Or check out Cornell’s online bird watching site, allaboutbirds.org.
The bird count’s Web site, www.birdcount.org, has a wealth of information, including lists of birds you are likely to see and tips for identifying birds that look alike. The data collected Feb. 12 to 15 can be entered on the Web site until March 1.
The Great Backyard Bird Count also offers a photo contest, which received more than 6,000 entries last year. So bring your camera as well as your binoculars.
How to participate:
1. Plan to count birds for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the count. You can count each day or just some of the days and you can count in different places. Just be sure to keep a separate list of birds for each day and each location.
2. For each type of bird you see, count the most you see at any one time. For example, maybe you see two chickadees when you start watching, then five chickadees a few minutes later. The number you put on your list for chickadees is five. Don’t add two plus five. (This way you don’t accidentally count the same bird twice.)
3. Enter your results online at www.birdcount.org. Then watch the maps as more people enter their reports.
— Source: Great Backyard Bird Count