Birdwatching: Participate in Great Backyard Bird Count 2017

Published 12:10 pm Tuesday, February 7, 2017

PACIFIC COUNTY — The worldwide Great Backyard Bird Count is free, fun and easy to do. Anyone interested in birds can participate. The event is intended to engage beginning birdwatchers and experts of all ages in counting birds. These efforts create a real-time snapshot of bird populations.

Last year, according to the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Ornithological Lab, more than 160,000 participants submitted 162,000 bird checklists online, creating the largest bird database in use. Each checklist submitted during the GBBC helps researchers learn more about how birds are doing, along with how to protect them and the environment we share.

This year, the 20th annual GBBC will be held from Feb. 17 to Feb. 20. Anyone interested in participating can visit the official website at birdcount.org for more information. All the organizers ask is that you “count for as little as 15 minutes on one or four days in your own backyard,” but of course you can count longer if you wish. You can keep track of what you see in your area and report onling your daily total for the species and the number of birds of each species observed.

The 10 most-frequently reported species last year were North American birds, which reflects our continents’ high level of participation in the GBBC. These species are the dark-eyed junco, northern cardinal, mourning dove, downy woodpecker, blue jay, American goldfinch, house finch, tufted titmouse, black-capped chickadee and the American crow.

Counting the birds in your own backyard will help expand our knowledge and understanding of birds on the Peninsula and in the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge, as well as contributing to the global snapshot. If you have a camera, be sure to take some photos and submit them to the GBBC photo contest. Remember the GBBC dates and count the birds in your backyard!