Cornell Lab eNews – Great Backyard Bird Count

February 27, 2009 Great Backyard Bird Count Breaks All-Time Record With two days left to go for data entry, participants have submitted 90,505 checklists, smashing the all-time GBBC record. In the race for towns submitting the most checklists, Mentor, Ohio, leads with 259 checklists ahead of second-ranked Charlotte, North Carolina. Visit the GBBC website to see top-10 species lists, maps, and   images of some of the 609 species reported so far. Snow Goose Success Story In this year’s Great Backyard Bird Count, Snow Geese were the most numerous species counted. Did you know that Snow Goose populations were so threatened that in 1916, hunting them was banned in the United States? Since then, their populations have increased dramatically, and hunting began again in 1975 without slowing their population growth. Can You Hear the Difference between the Calls of Snow Geese and Canada Geese? Listen to Snow Goose calls. Listen to Canada Goose calls. Have You Ever Heard THIS Bird Sound? Manx Shearwaters are seabirds that dive for fish in areas as far as 600 miles from their nesting burrows! Listen to the “electric” sounds of these “wailers, screechers, and screamers” from the Cornell Lab’s Macaulay Library archive in this story from NPR’s Sounds Wild. Act Fast for a Great Offer with Project FeederWatch Join Project FeederWatch, a meaningful project that enables you to learn more about your feeder birds and contribute your observations to science. Sign up by February 28 for the remainder of this season and get next season free! The $15 fee ($12 for Lab members) helps cover the costs of materials, including a bird-ID poster. Learn more.

Great Backyard Bird Count for February 16, 2009

Record ID: S4643730
Locality: 94506, Danville, Contra Costa County, CA
Observation Date: FEB 16, 2009	Email: randall.whitney@prodigy.net
Start Time: 10:15 AM	Snow Depth: No snow was present
Total Birding Time: 30 minutes	Location Type: Yard
Party Size: 1Skill: good Weather: fair	Habitat(s): deciduous woods coniferous woods suburban
Number of species: 12	All Reported: yes
Species Count Turkey Vulture 1 Mourning Dove 9 Anna’s Hummingbird 1 Western Scrub-Jay 1 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 1 Oak Titmouse 2 California Towhee 2 White-crowned Sparrow 5 Golden-crowned Sparrow 7 Dark-eyed Junco 4 House Finch 13 American Goldfinch 1

 

View all bird count statistics at www.birdcount.org

Great Backyard Bird Count For February 15, 2009

Record ID: S4596645

Locality: 94506, Danville, Contra Costa County, CA

Observation Date: FEB 15, 2009
Email: randall.whitney@prodigy.net

Start Time: 10:00 AM
Snow Depth: No snow was present

Total Birding Time: 30 minutes
Location Type: Yard

Party Size: 1

Skill: good

Weather: good
Habitat(s):
deciduous woods
coniferous woods
suburban

Number of species: 13
All Reported: yes

Species Count
Mourning Dove 7
Anna’s Hummingbird 2
Western Scrub-Jay 1
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 1
Oak Titmouse 1
California Towhee 1
Fox Sparrow 1
White-crowned Sparrow 6
Golden-crowned Sparrow 5
Dark-eyed Junco 5
House Finch 10
Lesser Goldfinch 1
American Goldfinch 1

View all bird count statistics at www.birdcount.org

Great Backyard Bird Count for February 14, 2009

Record ID: S4596481

Locality: 94506, Danville, Contra Costa County, CA

Observation Date: FEB 14, 2009
Email: randall.whitney@prodigy.net

Start Time: 10:15 AM
Snow Depth: No snow was present

Total Birding Time: 30 minutes
Location Type: Yard

Party Size: 1

Skill: good

Weather: good
Habitat(s):
deciduous woods
coniferous woods
suburban

Number of species: 12
All Reported: yes

Species Count
Mourning Dove 9
Anna’s Hummingbird 1
Steller’s Jay 2
Western Scrub-Jay 4
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2
Oak Titmouse 1
California Towhee 2
White-crowned Sparrow 7
Golden-crowned Sparrow 5
Dark-eyed Junco 3
House Finch 8
American Goldfinch 3

View all bird count statistics at www.birdcount.org

Great Backyard Bird Count for February 13, 2009

Record ID: S4596146
Locality: 94506, Danville, Contra Costa County, CA

Observation Date: FEB 13, 2009
Email: randall.whitney@prodigy.net

Start Time: 9:30 AM
Snow Depth: No snow was present

Total Birding Time: 30 minutes
Location Type: Yard

Party Size: 1

Skill: good

Weather: good
Habitat(s):
deciduous woods
coniferous woods
suburban

Number of species: 13
All Reported: yes

Species Count
Cooper’s Hawk 1
Mourning Dove 2
Anna’s Hummingbird 2
Steller’s Jay 2
Western Scrub-Jay 1
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 1
Oak Titmouse 1
California Towhee 1
White-crowned Sparrow 2
Golden-crowned Sparrow 5
Dark-eyed Junco 5
House Finch 3
American Goldfinch 1

View all bird count statistics at www.birdcount.org

Great Backyard Bird Count – February 13-16, 2009 – Sign Up Now

The next Great Backyard Bird Count takes place February 13-16, 2009. The National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology are calling on everyone to “Count for Fun, Count for the Future!”

Participants did just that in record numbers for the 2008 count, submitting more than 85,000 checklists and identifying 635 species. Let’s break some more records this year!

GBBC news release posted on the web site.  You’ll also find an updated version of the slide show for use in GBBC workshops and other events.

GBBC Ambassadors Needed
   As always, we rely on volunteer ambassadors to help spread the word about the GBBC and engage more people in their communities. Your contribution could be as simple as hanging up a few flyers or as ambitious as pitching the event on local radio and TV stations. You can use the new

   For more ideas on how to promote the GBBC, check out Get Involved on the GBBC website. You can fill out the online ambassador sign-up form and specify the kinds of activities you’d like to do.

Press Release – JOIN THE GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT

JOIN THE GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT

Count for Fun, Count for the Future

New York, NY and Ithaca, NY—Bird and nature fans throughout North America are invited to join tens of thousands of everyday bird watchers for the 12th annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), February 13-16, 2009. 

A joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, this free event is an opportunity for families, students, and people of all ages to discover the wonders of nature in backyards, schoolyards, and local parks, and, at the same time, make an important contribution to conservation. Participants count birds and report their sightings online at www.birdcount.org.

“The Great Backyard Bird Count benefits both birds and people. It’s a great example of citizen science: Anyone who can identify even a few species can contribute to the body of knowledge that is used to inform conservation efforts to protect birds and biodiversity,” said Audubon Education VP, Judy Braus. “Families, teachers, children and all those who take part in GBBC get a chance to improve their observation skills, enjoy nature, and have a great time counting for fun, counting for the future.”

Anyone can take part, from novice bird watchers to experts, by counting birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the event and reporting their sightings online at www.birdcount.org. Participants can also explore what birds others are finding in their backyards—whether in their own neighborhood or thousands of miles away. Additional online resources include tips to help identify birds, a photo gallery, and special materials for educators.  

The data these “citizen scientists” collect helps researchers understand bird population trends, information that is critical for effective conservation. Their efforts enable everyone to see what would otherwise be impossible: a comprehensive picture of where birds are in late winter and how their numbers and distribution compare with previous years. In 2008, participants submitted more than 85,000 checklists. 

“The GBBC has become a vital link in the arsenal of continent-wide bird-monitoring projects,” said Cornell Lab of Ornithology director, John Fitzpatrick. “With more than a decade of data now in hand, the GBBC has documented the fine-grained details of late-winter bird distributions better than any project in history, including some truly striking changes just over the past decade.”

Each year, in addition to entering their tallies, participants submit thousands of digital images for the GBBC photo contest. Many are featured in the popular online gallery. Participants in the 2009 count are also invited to upload their bird videos to YouTube; some will also be featured on the GBBC web site. Visit www.birdcount.org  to learn more.

Businesses,  schools, nature clubs, Scout troops, and other community organizations interested in the GBBC can contact the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at (800) 843-2473 (outside the U.S., call (607) 254-2473), or Audubon at citizenscience@audubon.org or (215) 355-9588, Ext 16.  

The Great Backyard Bird Count is made possible, in part, by support from Wild Birds Unlimited

Great Backyard Bird Count – Count for Sunday February 17, 2008

We have saved your bird checklist. Thank you for participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count!

Record ID: S3568828 (You will need to refer to this number if you wish to correspond about your data.)
Locality: 94506, Danville, Contra Costa County, CA
Observation Date: FEB 17, 2008	Email: randall.whitney@prodigy.net
Start Time: 11:00 AM	Snow Depth: No snow was present
Total Birding Time: 45 minutes	Location Type: Yard
Party Size: 1Skill: excellentWeather: excellent	Habitat(s): deciduous woods coniferous woods suburban
Number of species: 17	All Reported: yes
Species Count Red-tailed Hawk 1 Mourning Dove 1 Anna’s Hummingbird 2 Steller’s Jay 3 Western Scrub-Jay 7 American Crow 1 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2 Oak Titmouse 1 Hermit Thrush 1 American Robin 1 California Towhee 1 Fox Sparrow 1 White-crowned Sparrow 3 Golden-crowned Sparrow 2 Dark-eyed Junco 4 House Finch 12 American Goldfinch 2

Great Backyard Bird Count – Count for Saturday February 16, 2008

We have saved your bird checklist. Thank you for participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count!

Record ID: S3549321 (You will need to refer to this number if you wish to correspond about your data.)
Locality: 94506, Danville, Contra Costa County, CA
Observation Date: FEB 16, 2008	Email: randall.whitney@prodigy.net
Start Time: 9:45 AM	Snow Depth: No snow was present
Total Birding Time: 1 hour	Location Type: Yard
Party Size: 1Skill: excellentWeather: excellent	Habitat(s): deciduous woods coniferous woods suburban
Number of species: 18	All Reported: yes
Species Count Turkey Vulture 1 Cooper’s Hawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 2 Mourning Dove 1 Anna’s Hummingbird 2 Western Scrub-Jay 2 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2 Oak Titmouse 1 Hermit Thrush 1 American Robin 5 Cedar Waxwing 1 Spotted Towhee 1 California Towhee 1 White-crowned Sparrow 5 Golden-crowned Sparrow 3 Dark-eyed Junco 6 House Finch 13 American Goldfinch 2

Great Backyard Bird Count – Count for Friday February 15, 2008

We have saved your bird checklist. Thank you for participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count!

Record ID: S3525071 (You will need to refer to this number if you wish to correspond about your data.)
Locality: 94506, Danville, Contra Costa County, CA
Observation Date: FEB 15, 2008	Email: randall.whitney@prodigy.net
Start Time: 10:00 AM	Snow Depth: No snow was present
Total Birding Time: 45 minutes	Location Type: Yard
Party Size: 1Skill: excellentWeather: excellent	Habitat(s): deciduous woods coniferous woods suburban
Number of species: 15	All Reported: yes
Species Count Turkey Vulture 1 Red-tailed Hawk 2 Anna’s Hummingbird 3 Steller’s Jay 2 Western Scrub-Jay 5 American Crow 1 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2 Oak Titmouse 2 Hermit Thrush 1 California Towhee 1 White-crowned Sparrow 4 Golden-crowned Sparrow 4 Dark-eyed Junco 7 House Finch 7 American Goldfinch 3