Climate Watch & the Bird Count

Mark your calendars for February 13-16!

The Great Backyard Bird Count is a four-day event that engages people of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. 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 for as long as they wish during a 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 on the web. As the count progresses, anyone with Internet access can explore what is being reported from their own towns or anywhere in the United States and Canada.

They can also see how this year's numbers compare with those from previous years.Scientists 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.

Here are some of the questions scientist hope to answer with this year's count:

• How will this winter's snow and cold temperatures influence bird populations?


• Where are winter finches and other species that appear in large numbers during some years but not others?


• How will the timing of birds' migrations compare with past years?


• How are bird diseases, such as West Nile virus, affecting birds in different regions?


• What kinds of differences in bird diversity are apparent in cities versus suburban, rural, and natural areas?


• Are any birds undergoing worrisome declines that point to the need for conservation attention?
  

Scientists use the counts, along with observations from other citizen-science projects, to give us an immense picture of our winter birds. Each year that these data are collected makes them more meaningful and allows scientists to investigate far-reaching questions about the health of our planet.

Sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audobon Society