EXPERIENCE

THE GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT – FMW AUDUBON TRADITION

Scientists and bird enthusiasts can learn a lot by knowing where the birds are.

Bird populations are constantly changing as young are fledged, birds migrate southward for the winter months or areas are cleared for new construction.

Since 1998 when the Great Backyard Bird Count was launched by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, people everywhere have been adding data to this database in real time. Scientists use information from the Great Backyard Bird Count, along with observations from other citizen-science projects, such as the Christmas Bird Count, Project Feeder Watch and eBird, 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.

From February 17-20, 2017, YOU are invited to participate. For at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the count, simply tally the numbers and kinds of birds you see and enter them into the eBird database (it is really easy!). You can count from any location, anywhere in the world, for as long as you wish!

There is no limit to the number of lists you can enter. You should enter a different list for each different day, location or even same location at a different time during the same day.

In 2016, Great Backyard Bird Count participants in more than 130 countries entered 5,689 species of birds on more than 162,000 checklists!

Again this year on Sunday morning, February 19 from 9-11 am, you are invited to join other FMW Audubon Society members to celebrate the Great Backyard Bird Count in the yard of Dan and Ann Forster.

For a number years, this group tradition has been taking place as one of the FMWAS sponsored Bird Walks.  Everyone is invited – beginning birders are welcome and there will be experienced birders to help with identification of the many species we will see.

Bring your binoculars & field guide and join us for the Great Backyard Bird Count!  For more information about the whole program and results from previous years’ counts, visit the website at http://gbbc.birdcount.org

For more local information call Jan Lloyd, 453-1660, and leave a message.