Great Backyard Bird Count 2013 Feb 15 - 18

It's that time of the year to get outdoors and count the birds as the Great Backyard Bird Count takes place this weekend for 4 days starting Friday Feb 15th and ending on Monday Feb. 18th.

What is the GBBC?

The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual 4-day event that engages bird watchers from all over the world and of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are.

Everyone is welcome--from beginning bird watchers to experts. It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count for as long as you like each day of the event. It’s free, fun, and easy—and it helps the birds.
Participants tally the number of individual birds of each species they see during their count period. They enter these numbers on the GBBC website.

Why count birds?

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 the GBBC information, along with observations from other citizen-science projects, such as the Christmas Bird Count, Project FeederWatch, 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

How to Participate?

Visit the GBBC website to learn more about the GBBC and how you can participate in this years Backyard Bird Count.

The GBBC offers up an opportunity to get the family together enjoy mother nature, even if you still ahve 2 feet of snow like we do in Connecticut. Count birds while sitting by your window watching the feeders or get outside and explore your local forest and parks. There are also photo contests, local events and plenty to learn by particpating.

You can read about our results from the 2012 count here: http://passinthruoutdoors.blogspot.com/2012/02/backyard-bird-count-results.html