This past weekend, February 18 to 21, was the weekend of the 25th annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) sponsored by the National Audubon Society, Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada. GBBC is an event when bird enthusiasts of all skill levels go out and list all the birds that they see or hear and report the list back to the sponsors, primarily on Cornell’s eBird app. Birders can spend as little as 15 minutes counting the birds at their feeder or in their yards or spend all weekend out in nature at their favorite birding spots. The late February date is chosen to be before the annual spring migration starts.
GBBC is a citizen science project. Ornithologists and conservation scientists use the data posted by ordinary citizens to learn about changing bird populations around the world. Last year, 124 peer-reviewed scientific papers based on eBird data were published in technical journals. The list of citations is available at eBird.org.
If you enjoy watching birds, or if you enjoy long slow walks outdoors and you missed this year’s GBBC, it’s not too early to start practicing for next year’s count. First, sign up for an account at eBird.org. Next, start learning to identify birds near your home and around Greenbelt. A good pair of binoculars is helpful but not essential.
Cornell has developed another app called Merlin that is an excellent resource for new birders. In addition to photos, descriptions and calls and songs of birds from all over the world, Merlin includes features to help identify birds by sight, photo or sound. And you don’t have to travel far. You can start in your own backyard, or you can walk (or cycle or drive) over to our own Greenbelt Lake – Buddy Attick Park, an eBird-designated birding hotspot where eBirders have identified 186 species. The walk around the lake will do you good, and you can derive satisfaction from knowing that your posted bird list will help conserve bird species around the world.
Greenbelt Marc uses this handle when talking with e-birders while on the trail. Otherwise, he is a News Review staff member.