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!

GBPs and the GBBC - Here We Go!

The similarities are uncanny

Hey everyone – the Green Bay Packers are playing in the SUPERBOWL this year!

That is fantastic news for the countless Packer fans across the world…finally a reason to watch the darn thing. Not since the ‘96 season where they beat the Patriots and the disappointing ‘97 appearance where John Elway was allowed to actually matter (in a loss) have the GB Packers been to the Big Dance. They will play the Pittsburg Steelers in Dallas for ultimate bragging rights to the 2010 season.

For the next two weeks (until kickoff) GB “fans” of all ages and levels of football knowledge will be pontificating and opining right along with the “experts” citing all sorts of data, statistics, trends, observations, and personal conjecture – all for the purposes of establishing their own preponderance of credibility amongst their peers. Learned professionals alongside with the average novice can equally contribute to the discussion and help to provide insight. Because it’s a “game” and until it’s played, no person’s input is more accurate than the next.

While that’s all well and good from a purely entertainment aspect why not also be a GB fan in another area that truly matters? What if I told you about a similar arena of knowledge that includes both the casual observer and the wizened veteran? How you ask? Well…do you feed birds in your backyard? Do you feed birds in your side or front yard? If so, you are a highly sought after citizen scientist and the GBBC wants YOU! (...and it’s a few weekends after the Super Bowl too – so no conflicts!)

Here’s the goal for this team: The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is an annual four-day event that recruits bird watchers of all ages in counting their very own backyard birds to assist in creating an up to date (annual) accounting of just where the birds are across North America. Anyone can help; from beginning bird watchers to experts. A counting bird watcher can spend as few as 15 minutes on one day, or can count for as long as desired each day of the event. There’s no cost, it is enjoyable and the information collected and submitted is quite valuable—plus it can even help the birds.

This year’s 2011 GBBC will take place Friday, February 18, through Monday, February 21.

The Great Backyard Bird Count is led by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, with Canadian partner Bird Studies Canada and sponsorship from Wild Birds Unlimited.

HERE’s the Internet site to get you hooked up with all you’ll need to REPORT your findings. I’ll be doing it and I hope you will be too. It’s a Kick!

So, enjoy the GB Packers Super Bowl victory over the vaunted Steelers (on February 6th, 2011) and then enjoy counting your GB-Birds and pay special attention to the green and gold ones...they’ll be the ones touching down on the field with the Lombardi trophy.

Go Pack Go – (and Go Count!)


(...oh and one more thing: ...the BEARS STILL SUCK...)  - Rodgers that!

Embracing "Tunnel" Vision

You just KNOW you want to...

Remember when you were a kid?  I do.  Hell, I'm basically still a kid at heart and unafraid to admit it.    Remember how it felt to explore new, strange, scary, ("don't go in there Joey cause you'll get hurt!") kind of places?  I do.  I still do cause I can...without the aforementioned parental warnings associated.  Is it scary?...Yes  Is it kinda' stupid?...Yes too...but what the hell?  During the latest GBBC I ventured to Havenwoods (as you know if you read this blog) and came across a semi-frozen version of the same drainage system that is usually totally thawed (or is it "UN-thawed"...no, that sounds wrong doesn't it?  Kinda like when you say IN-flamable, when you mean the damn thing will burn like a monkey on a cupcake right? But I digress...as usual Birdstud...as usual)  Anyway, where was I?  Oh, I was telling you fair reader about the drainage system...

Well, the tunnels at the bottom of the hill were practically screaming out, "COME HERE" to me, so I did.  It reminded me of my childhood when I went down to the "culverts" near my Madison, WI home.  I wasn't supposed to go near them because my Mom said I'd "get hurt" right...but I did anyway.  I mean c'mon some of the guys from the neighborhood were having a rock fight on the top of them near the creek and I just HAD to join them.  Geeze...when I think back about that...a freakin' ROCK fight no less!  Anyway, I went to join the fracass and...well..dodged a rock and FELL into the culvert bottom and split my knee wide open.  I remember running back full-tilt to the house for a medic. 

When my Mom came outside to meet me, I said through my tear-stained and muddy cheeks, "Mom...I know I wasn't supposed to be by the culverts cause you told me not to, and you can punish me however you want to, but please just help me!"  She did.  I even skated on the punishment because (apparently) my contrition (and misery) was authentic enough, and she laughed each time she'd tell that tale over the years before her death in 2008...thanks Mom...I love you...you were the best.

So here were the tunnels of 2010 calling out my name.  Were there dangers?  Only if you count the thin honeycomb ice that coated the pond that drained into them.  Oh what the heck...time for some Tunnel Vision!  Plus, it was like visiting an art gallery if you like that kind of art anyway...see for yourself.

A tunnels-eye view

Drainage "Art"

Looks fun doesn't it?  Thanks for reading and dreaming along with the kid in me...B. Stud

The GBBC 2010 ~ How did YOU do?

Reporting your findings when it really counts...

No, the GBBC is certainly not the Greater Boston Business Council (http://www.gbbc.org) A Boston based organization to help the bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgendered business community, with more than 1,000 working professionals.  However noble that goal and organization may be, it is totally unrelated to the subject of this particular BS blog.  This little slice of Birdstudian poundcake is dedicated to satiating the hunger of those who value citizen science reporting.  You see it's one thing to perform your due dilligence and "watch" the birdie, and another to remember to "share" your observations with the entire birding world.  Whether you feel confident that you are "worthy" of posting what you "thought" you saw, you truly ought to give it a try and follow-up with your very own report. 

By the way...you have until March 1, 2010 to do so...HERE  just as I did below...

The Devereaux Yard

This first list above was observed in the backyard of the house on Saturday over the period of 8 hours of casual (look out the window every-so-often) viewing.  I would observe a particular species and make a maximum count.  What eventually was reported to the GBBC website, was the maximum amount of that particular species I had seen over that 8-hour time period.  I decided to also sneek away for a little more than an hour to one of my favorite birding areas in the City of Milwaukee; the State forest at Havenwoods.  I pulled on the big Sorel boots and trudged through the snow.  Here's that final submitted count as well...(below)

The highlight of that little side-jaunt was the approximately 250 Starlings that decided to "electrify" me with their presence in a high-tension power tower.

I will be blogging more about this particular Havenwoods trip in a near-future blog so stay tuned...In the meantime, I also counted the next day just for kicks in the back yard once more.  The weather for the three counts was magnificent and sunny as I spent as much time outdoors as possible.  Here is that final submitted count:

So, in short I hope that you (fellow birder) also had the great fortune to observe during this past GBBC of 2010, and furthermore that you had the confidence to log on and report your totals. 

Remember: Every Little Bird bit helps, when it comes to science...make yours "count" too.

Thanks for reading!

Birdstud

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.

I Count

I count…do you? The next time your self-esteem is floundering a bit, and you feel as if you are just a fly-spec on the speeding windshield of life…try counting. The Great Backyard Bird Count (held this year, February 13th – 16th 2009) sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon, offers Joe-six packs and experts alike, the opportunity to be judged by the same yardstick.

Why should anyone count birds? According to the GBBC’s own (official) website: “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 the complex distribution and movements of so many species in such a short time.” It takes no expertice what so ever to count birds seen in your back yard. If you don't recognize what that LBB (Little Brown Bird) is, then just don't count it. Count the ones you know because everything matters from the American Robin, to the common House Sparrow. Just sit, enjoy a cup of your favorite beverage and mark down what you see. So what better way to spend your Valentine’s Day than to sit staring out the window of your own backyard, holding the hand of a loved one, counting the beautiful red Northern cardinals that find your feeder enticing enough to land. How Romantic eh? ...Yah, romantic, you betcha! (and just in case that doesn't work for you and your S.O. try candy and flowers...)