Afield: How to participate in this year’s Great Backyard Bird Count from Feb. 12-15

I have over a dozen bird feeders at my home in the Bald Eagle Valley. As the good folks at Tyrone Milling can attest, I purchase quite a few bags of birdseed each year. Not only do I watch and photograph birds at my feeders for pleasure, I also count and record my observations. Additionally, I add my observations and photos to a personal journal.

While many of our summer birds migrate south with the seasonal changes, several species from Canada move into Pennsylvania for the winter. Dark-eyed juncos are the first to arrive — usually in October or November. This past fall, I saw my first Centre County juncos on Sept. 28 —a little earlier than usual. The first pine siskins, a bird common to Canada’s boreal forest, appeared at my deck feeders on Oct. 11 — a full three months ahead of when they arrived in 2018. The nyjer-seed-loving pine siskins were absent from our feeders last winter.

Beyond the counting, there are interesting bird interactions that I get to see. The common woodpeckers definitely have a pecking order. The smaller downy woodpeckers are often displaced at suet feeders by the larger hairy woodpeckers. In turn, the hairy woodpeckers move aside for the more aggressive, red-bellied woodpeckers.

I record my counts on Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s eBird website — besides being fun for me, this data is valuable to ornithologists and can be used in many ways. What Cornell Lab of Ornithology terms “citizen-science” data has been used in numerous scientific papers. The data documents the rapid southerly movement of irrupting species, such as pine siskins and evening grosbeaks this winter, as well as the long-term northward shifts of species such as Carolina wrens and red-bellied woodpeckers.

Another annual major citizen science effort, the Great Backyard Bird Count, is scheduled for Feb. 12-15. With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging, participating in the count is an excellent and COVID-safe family activity. According to Cornell University, the mid-February timing was selected originally to precede the start of spring migrations in North American. Although the scope of the count has expanded, the mid-winter timing has remained the same.

Launched in 1998 by the Cornell Lab and National Audubon Society, the Great Backyard Bird Count was the first online citizen science project, also referred to as community science, to collect data on wild birds and to display results in near real time. Birds Canada joined the project in 2009 to provide an expanded capacity to support participation in Canada. In 2013, it became a global project when participants began entering their data online using eBird, the world’s largest biodiversity-related citizen science (community science) project. The GBBC remains a joint project of the three above-mentioned organizations.

The combined efforts of birders from all over the world will provide a snapshot of winter bird populations during those four days. That data will help researchers at Cornell, the National Audubon Society and many universities learn more about how different species of birds are faring in our changing environment.

GBBC participation continues to grow. In 2015, just over 143,000 volunteers tallied 5,090 species. It will be interesting to see how this February’s pine siskin count compares to 2015. That year, participants counted a record 171,312 pine siskins, compared to only 13,431 in 2014.

More than 268,670 participants from 194 different countries submitted their bird counts during the February, 2020, GBBC. It provided the most detailed four-day snapshot of world-wide bird populations ever collected. Counters reported 6,942 different species. Based on the number of checklists reporting a species, the top five reported birds were the northern cardinal, dark-eyed junco, mourning dove, downy woodpecker and blue jay. These five species are all common North American birds, which reflects the high participation rate in this region. The cardinal has topped the list almost every year since the beginning.

In 2020, Pennsylvania had the fifth-highest GBBC participation rate, behind California, New York, Texas and Florida. All five of these states tallied state record numbers of checklists last year.

Things to watch for in this year’s GBBC will be the extent of the southern movement of siskins, evening grosbeaks, and red-breasted nuthatches, as well as red and white-winged crossbills. This appears to be another big year for the normally arctic-living snowy owls. You could be lucky and spot one of these magnificent birds. One is currently being observed in Cumberland County, and there are others.

Participating in the count is free, it’s fun and anyone can help. The GBBC welcomes birders of all ages and all degrees of expertise. All you need to do is count birds for 15 minutes or more during one or more of the four count days and report your findings online with eBird at www.eBird.org. Instructions are provided online, explaining how to record your counts. You will need access to a computer and a free eBird account to report birds.

Although the event is called the Great Backyard Bird Count, participants are welcome to count at a park, a state game land, their backyard or anywhere that they wish. If you use the cell phone eBird app, it will recognize your location for the report. Information about the GBBC can be found online at www.birdcount.org.

According to a count spokesperson: “The information you send in can provide the first sign that individual species may be increasing or declining from year to year. Data gathered over many years help highlight how a species’ range may be expanding or shrinking. 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 receive attention. Great Backyard Bird Count information also allows us to look at what kinds of birds inhabit different areas, such as cities and suburbs compared to more natural habitats.”

You can even submit bird photos through eBird, or photos of your family birding through the GBBC social media page. A link is provided at www.birdcount.org. Not only is it free, easy, and fun, but your efforts — however large or small — will help ornithologists and all of us learn more about birds.

If you are looking for a unique COVID-safe mid-winter family activity, the Great Backyard Bird Count is a way to involve everyone in an important conservation effort. Who knows, it might be the beginning of a lifelong hobby.