GBBC 2015 Overview – Excerpt from Cornell

GBBC 2015  Overview

You did it! Once again participants from around the world set new records for the number of species identified during the four days of the Great Backyard Bird Count and for the number of checklists submitted.
 

Total checklists: 147,265 (up 3,156)
Total species: 5,090 (up 794)
Estimated participants: 143,941 (up 1,890)
 

Bad weather really had an impact on participation in the heavily populated northeastern quadrant of the United States and across Canada. Bitter temperatures, snow, and high winds produced a noticeable drop in the number of checklists submitted from those regions. Kudos to those who braved the elements to count (humans) and be counted (the birds)! And congratulations to our outstanding performers across the globe. Below are the Top 10 countries ranked by number of checklists submitted:
 

Country	Number of Species	Number of Checklists
United States	671	108,396
Canada	241	10,491
India	717	6,810
Australia	524	812
Mexico	653	425
Costa Rica	559	303
Portugal	197	193
New Zealand	126	161
Ecuador	784	138
Honduras	353	133

Read the 2015 GBBC summary on the website

Do some more exploring on your own. How many Snowy Owls were reported in your state or province? Did Pine Siskins show up in your county? How many species were identified in your country?

Use the “Explore a Region” tool to find out.
 

Still Have Checklists to Enter?

Although data entry has been closed on the GBBC website, you can still enter any lingering lists by going directly to the eBird online checklist program at www.eBird.org. You can use the same user name and password (which you have carefully saved for next year). Any observations entered in eBird for the GBBC dates, February 13-16, 2015, will be part of the count.

The Next GBBC is February 12-15, 2016

Keep Counting!

We hear the same lament every year: “I had some some really great birds just before (or after) the GBBC and I couldn’t report them.”

Yes, you can! Now that you’ve contributed to the Great Backyard Bird Count, you can report your birds anytime, anywhere by using eBird. Just use the same user name and password you set up for the GBBC and the data entry process is the same.

You’ll be in good company. eBird collects millions of sightings each month from around the world. Those observations have been put to use in generating the State of the Birds reports for the U.S. Department of the Interior and for targeting specific species for conservation based on when and where they will be appearing during migration. Your birds matter!

Havenwoods Revisited (again) – 2013 GBBC

One can never get enough rejuvenating sunshine on a cold and wintry day in February… 

Yes, the temperature was a frosty 12 degrees and the windchill made it below zero, BUT the sun was brightly shining overhead as Barbara and I stepped outside Havenwoods State Forest to lead our 11:00 Adult Bird Walk.  
As is often the case with events planned far in advance; weather can be a factor.  Thankfully for the Friends of Havenwoods, the vast majority of their fun, interactive family “Winter is for the Birds” NatureFest events were planned for indoors.  

Havenwoods State Forest is located at 6141 N. Hopkins Street in the city of Milwaukee.  That’s just one block west of Sherman Blvd (43rd street) on Douglas Ave.Their main parking lot was full with vehicles and folks were using the auxiliary lot a short distance away.  A multitude of “bird-activities” kept the many families busy learning about birds in a creative and educational way.  Wildlife in Need Center’s Leslie Kiehl had a smallish, rescued Great horned owl named Dakota as a living example of interesting avian life.  Plus there was even an opportunity to take a horse-drawn wagon ride, or sit by a cozy wood fire outdoors.

 Properly layered in a warm blanket of winter clothing, our boots made cold-weather skrunching noises with each step in the hard-packed snow.  There had been plenty of melting and some steady rain in the past week, so slippery ice lay just beneath the fine layer of newer, fluffier snow.  This made us be extremely careful on the trails as we walked; trying not to slip and fall.  American crows were seen flying overhead and a group of pigeons erupted from a tree as they heard our approach. 

Many animal tracks crisscrossed the trails; each set having a unique tail to tell of survival in the cold.  The two of us walked our “usual” counterclockwise route that starts at the garden and ends back at the lot covering a total distance of just over five miles, in a mostly circuitous path. We were not to be joined by any other intrepid bird watching wannabes this day; more than likely due to the weather.  That was OK with us.  The sun felt great on our faces and the vigorous walk was good for the soul on this 16th of February.  

This in effect was our GBBC 2013.  Want to participate…check the link.

Birdstud Tours

Our (small but satisfying) bird list reads like this:

1. Red-tailed hawk
2. American Crow
3. Rock dove
4. Mourning dove
5. Hairy woodpecker
6. Black-capped chickadee
7. White-breasted nuthatch
8. House sparrow
9. Blue jay
10. American robin

The GBBC 2010 – They’re Counting on You!

It’s as easy as looking out your window…really.

Big days, Big sits, CBCs, the World Series of Birding…all big time commitments for most casual birders. Thank goodness there’s an event for the majority of people to participate in, and enjoy; the GBBC. The Great Backyard Bird Count as it is called, “is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent and in Hawaii. Anyone can participate, 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 count birds anywhere for as little or as long as they wish during the four-day period. They tally the highest number of birds of each species seen together at any one time. To report their counts, they fill out an online checklist at the Great Backyard Bird Count web site.” Don’t despair…there is even an “off-line” form HERE for those who don’t have Internet access. But honestly, doesn’t that seem a bit counter intuitive to even mention it on my Birdstud blog? I mean…you wouldn’t have web access anyway; so how would you be reading this blog right? oh well…let’s continue.

It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3!

1. Plan to count birds for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the count. You can count for longer than that if you wish! Count birds in as many places and on as many days as you like—one day, two days, or all four days. Submit a separate checklist for each new day. You can also submit more than one checklist per day if you count in other locations on that day.

2. Count the greatest number of individuals of each species that you see together at any one time. You may find it helpful to print out your regional bird checklist to get an idea of the kinds of birds you’re likely to see in your area in February. You could take note of the highest number of each species you see on this checklist.

3. When you’re finished, enter your results through the GBBC web page. You’ll see a button marked “Enter Your Checklists!” on the website home page beginning on the first day of the count. It will remain active until the deadline for data submission on March 1st.

HERE’S what all reporting “citizen scientists” counted in their “back yards” (for Wisconsin) in 2009. If you want another area’s results: click HERE.

Another interesting link is the one HERE that gives you the Top Ten Lists of species counted.

Here’s what I counted last year: (Psst…just cause it says “back yard” it doesn’t have to mean literally your back yard. I for instance counted my birds in the Lakeshore State Park area of Milwaukee as you can see by the zip code I entered) Why did I do that? Heck, I guess I was bored with House sparrows and Juncos…I don’t know…maybe I just felt like counting shorebirds alright…Jeeze!

Observer: Birdstud
Locality: 53233 Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Date: 15-Feb-2009 03:00 PM

Species* Number of Birds

American Black Duck 2
Mallard 20
Greater Scaup 12
Common Goldeneye 10
Common Merganser 6
American Coot 4
Ring-billed Gull 25
Herring Gull 96
Total 175

Anyway, I plan to be GBBC-ing again this year and may even do it from the kitchen window, who knows? How about you? It’s fun and educational and it helps by giving the Cornell and Audubon folks a baseline from year to year from which to operate. It’s important to get involved…try it this year.