Being a scientist has never been so easy! Join bird lovers everywhere and participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). Now in its 20th year, the GBBC will take place worldwide February 17-20.
You can literally just count birds in your own backyard for 15 minutes and join citizen scientists in North Carolina and across the world. These data are an important contribution to research that helps us help better understand how birds are affected by our changing climate.
“Citizen science events like the GBBC contribute greatly to our bird conservation efforts in North Carolina,” said Heather Hahn, Executive Director of Audubon North Carolina. “The data collected this weekend will provide key insights on how birds are moving across the landscape and where they are thriving or in trouble. It will also give us critical information on how climate change is impacting birds.”
Anyone anywhere in the world can count birds for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the count. Bird watchers from more than 100 countries participated in last year’s count, documenting over 5,000 species -- nearly half the possible bird species in the world -- on more than 147,000 bird checklists.
North Carolina continues to be a top-performing state for the GBBC ranking 7th in 2016 with 5,521 checklists counting over 200 species.
The Great Backyard Bird Count is a great way for people of all ages and backgrounds to connect with nature and show some love for birds this Valentine’s Day weekend. Participation is free and easy. GBBC is a joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society along with Bird Studies Canada.
