Where The Birds Are––

This Weekend Is The Great Backyard Bird Count

By Dottie Evans

Last year the mourning doves busted the numbers and the year before it was slate-colored juncos. What species will be on top this year?

Newtown residents are urged by the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology to join with thousands of others across North America who will count birds in their backyards over four days this weekend and then log the numbers into a computer data bank at www.birdsource.org/gbbc.

It only takes 15 minutes and you don’t have to step out of the house to participate.

Simply grab your binoculars, have a pencil and notepad ready, stand at the kitchen window, and start counting the birds you see, species by species.

“It’s a fun way for people to get involved in science,” said John Longstreth, director of the Audubon Center at Bent of the River in Southbury.

The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) begins Friday, February 18, and it continues through Monday, February 21. Organizers are asking local residents to count birds at their favorite locations on any or all of the count days and enter their tallies by computer at the birdsource website.

“As data pours in from around the United States and Canada, you’ll be able to see how your sightings are contributing to a continental picture showing where the birds this year, and how this year’s picture compares with previous counts,” said Paul Green, Audubon’s director of citizen science.

“This year, we’ve made it easy to download tally sheets in case you’d like to print them out in advance and mark them up during the count.

“Just go to http://gbbc.birdsource.org/gbbcApps/checklist,” Mr Green said.

“After you’ve entered your data, you’ll have the option to receive an email summary of the counts you just submitted — a nice keepsake if you participate year after year.”

To celebrate this year’s theme, North America’s Great Backyard, participants are urged to visit local and national parks and other public places during the GBBC.

“You can choose to enter your data by town, postal code, or national public lands — including national parks and forests, provincial parks, wildlife refuges, and air force bases,” he added.

The ten most commonly reported species in the 2004 GBBC were: mourning dove, northern cardinal, dark-eyed junco, blue jay, American goldfinch, downy woodpecker, house finch, house sparrow, tufted titmouse, and American crow.

Here’s What To Do

Go to the website www.birdsource.org/gbbc and print a checklist for the area where you will count the birds.

“Go birding” on any day between (and including) the 18th and the 21st of February 2005, and count the birds in your backyard, park, refuge or any nearby natural area. For each species, write down the biggest number of individuals you see at any one time during your count. (Don’t add a bird every time you see one at your feeder because you could be counting the same individual over and over again.)

Watch the birds for at least 15 minutes on each day that you take part. You can take part on one, two, three, or all four days.

Go back to your computer and log on to the GBBC website, complete an online checklist, and send your sightings to the Audubon and Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology computers. You will be joining thousands of others doing the same thing.

View your results. Even as your information is being added, new lists and maps are being constructed. Results may be viewed as they are submitted in several different formats that include statewide results, and results from local Connecticut towns including Newtown and Sandy Hook.

For example, if you were the only person in Sandy Hook who saw three bluebirds flying around the yard and you reported them for that particular count day, those three bluebirds would be included in GBBC data that is accumulated nationally and published online.

See the results from across the continent and in your own hometown.