20th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count Begins Friday, Feb. 17, 2017

Summary: The 20th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count begins Friday, Feb. 17, 2017, at midnight local time and ends Monday night, Feb. 20, at midnight local time.

Photo of Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) by Gary Mueller adorns one of the 20th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count 2017 promotional posters: National Audubon Society, via Facebook Feb. 11, 2017

The 20th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is a four-day, worldwide event that begins at midnight local time, Friday, Feb. 17, 2017, and ends at midnight local time, Monday, Feb. 20, 2017.

The Great Backyard Bird Count’s user-friendly site provides participants and interested visitors with information and instructions that are “as easy as 1, 2, 3!” Registration requires creating an account for new participants or using existing accounts by previous participants in 2016’s 19th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count or in other Cornell Lab citizen science projects.

The 20th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count’s dedicated start page (http://gbbc.birdcount.org/get-started/) includes links to helpful tools. “Downloadable Instructions,” “’How To’ Slide Show,” “Help & FAQs,” “Optional Data Form” and “Bird Lists” demystify the registration and participation process for new participants and serve as refreshers for returning participants.

The start page for the 2017 backyard census also provides links that help with bird identification. “Online Bird Guide,” “Tricky Bird IDs” and “Birding Apps” familiarize observers with birding intricacies.

The 20th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count adheres to the annual event’s flexible, user-friendly format. Participants choose place and time for their observations. A minimum of at least 15 minutes is recommended. Longer times are always acceptable. Counting may occur over any or all of the event’s four days.

Participants also select the locations for their counts. Observations may happen at the same location or at different locations.

Each count requires a separate checklist. For example, two counts conducted at the same location on the same day are entered as separate checklists.

Changes may be made after submitting a checklist. For example, “Manage My Checklists” allows for editing individual checklists. “Manage My Locations” allows for such edits as moving or renaming a participant’s mapped birding location(s).

“Edit My Profile” allows for changes in a participant’s email address. A current email address is essential for any followups from reviewers about a participant’s observations.

Participants may select status as “Anonymous Birder” in the “Public Name Display” section of their submissions if they prefer not to be named in the Great Backyard Bird Count’s output. Data is also customizable. Making data available publicly is recommended. Yet participants are allowed to customize the appearance of their data in certain GBBC outputs.

The fourth and final day of the Great Backyard Bird Count coincides with holidays in Canada and in the United States. The annual census combines education and entertainment in a citizen science project that is participant-friendly and is ideally suited to a holiday weekend.

The Canadian provinces of Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan observe Family Day on the third Monday in February. The statutory holiday celebrates families as important components of Canadian communities.

In the United States, the final day of the 20th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count coincides with the federal holiday of Washington’s Birthday. Observation of Washington’s Birthday falls annually on the third Monday on February. As February’s third Monday in 2017, Feb. 20 claims celebration of the federal holiday. Other names for the holiday, such as Presidents’ Day, derive from state level observations. First U.S. President George Washington was born Feb. 22, 1732.

The takeaway for the 20th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count is that the worldwide event’s span over four days allows for many opportunities to count birds in local communities.

A sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus), photographed by Nick Saunders, is featured on one of the 20th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count 2017 promotional posters: Great Florida Birding & Wildlife Trail, via Facebook Feb. 7, 2017

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Photo of Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) by Gary Mueller adorns one of the 20th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count 2017 promotional posters: National Audubon Society, via Facebook Feb. 11, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/nationalaudubonsociety/posts/10154472331039007/; via Facebook Feb. 11, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10154472331039007&set=a.212081654006; via Facebook Feb. 11, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/NationalAudubonSociety/photos/pb.100044402080542.-2207520000/10154472331039007/

A sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus), photographed by Nick Saunders, is featured on one of the 20th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count 2017 promotional posters: Great Florida Birding & Wildlife Trail, via Facebook Feb. 7, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/floridabirdingtrail/posts/10154808235626043/; via Facebook Feb. 7, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10154808235626043&set=a.287521726042; via Facebook Feb. 7, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/floridabirdingtrail/photos/pb.100064702869386.-2207520000/10154808235626043/

For further information:

“Family Day in Canada.” Time And Date > Calendar > Holidays > Canada.
Available @ https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/canada/family-day

“Get the GBBC Poster.” The Great Backyard Bird Count > News > Poster.
Available @ http://gbbc.birdcount.org/news/poster/

“Get Started.” The Great Backyard Bird Count.
Available @ http://gbbc.birdcount.org/get-started/

Marriner, Derdriu. “19th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count Begins Friday, Feb. 12, 2016.” Earth and Space News. Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/02/19th-annual-great-backyard-bird-count.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “2016 Great Backyard Bird Count Runs Worldwide Feb. 12 Through Feb. 15.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/02/2016-great-backyard-bird-count-runs.html

“Presidents’ Day.” OfficeHolidays > Countries > USA.
Available @ http://www.officeholidays.com/countries/usa/presidents_day.php

“Presidents’ Day in the United States.” Time And Date > Holidays > The United States.
Available @ https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/washington-birthday