Hopefully birders can spend a few minutes counting birds for the Great Backyard Bird Count which starts tomorrow! All skill levels and ages welcome! If you are an ebirder, you can submit records in both places. Have fun and represent Colorado proudly. Below a summary from Cornell on how the data is used and how to participate.
www.birdcount.org --Scott Scott Severs Longmont, CO http://picasaweb.google.com/scottesevers Great Backyard Bird Count Feb. 18-21, 2011 How is the information from the GBBC used? Bird populations are constantly changing. No single scientist or team of scientists could hope to keep track of the complicated patterns of movement of so many species over an entire continent. The information from GBBC participants even more valuable as scientists try to learn how birds are affected by environmental changes.The information you send in can provide the first sign that individual species may be increasing or declining from year to year. It shows how a species’ range expands or shrinks over time. A big change, noted consistently over a period of years, is an indication that something is happening in the environment that is affecting the birds and that should be followed up on. GBBC information also allows us to look at what kinds of birds inhabit different areas, such as cities versus suburban. All the information from the GBBC and other surveys goes into a massive bird database called the Avian Knowledge Network. AKN now holds 36 million records of bird observations which are used by scientists around the world. Why is the count in February? It gives us a snapshot of how birds are surviving the winter and where they are located just before spring migrations begin in March. Scientists at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the National Audubon Society, and elsewhere can combine this information with data from surveys conducted at different times of the year. How to COUNT THE BIRDS: 1. Count birds at any location for at LEAST 15 minutes—or more if you wish. Later you’ll be asked to record the amount of time you spent watching. 2. Write down only the highest number of each species you see together at any one time to avoid counting the same birds more than once. For example, if you see 8 juncos as you start your count period, then later you see 12, and later still you see 3, you’ll only report 12--the highest number you saw together at once. Please do not add the numbers together. 3. You’ll submit your data on a new checklist for each day you participate in the count. It’s OK if you count at the same location each day—submit a new list for each day. 4. You’ll submit a new checklist for each new location. You can submit more than one checklist on a given day if you count at more than one site. ENTER YOUR CHECKLIST(S): When you’re ready to enter your checklist(s), go to the GBBC website at www.BirdCount.org and click on the big “Submit your checklists” button at the top. You won’t see this button until 7:00 AM the Friday the GBBC begins. Everything you need to know will be clear on the web page as you enter your information. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
