How does backyard bird count work?

Backyard bird count is an annual event organized by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society where bird watchers across North America count birds seen in their backyards, local parks or other natural areas. The event provides crucial data on bird populations for scientists studying the long-term health and status of bird species.

When is the backyard bird count?

The backyard bird count is held over four days every February. The exact dates vary each year but it is typically held on a long weekend in mid-February. In 2023, the dates are February 17-20. Participants can count birds for as little as 15 minutes on one day or for as long as they like each day of the event. Counts can be submitted online or through the eBird mobile app.

Why participate in the backyard bird count?

There are a few key reasons why birdwatchers and nature lovers participate in the backyard bird count each year:

• It’s fun! Counting birds in your own backyard or neighborhood park is an enjoyable activity for people of all ages and birdwatching abilities.
• It provides valuable data to scientists. The count allows researchers to track changes in bird distribution and populations over time.
• It’s easy. You don’t need any special skills or equipment to participate. All you need is access to an outdoor space and the ability to identify common backyard birds.
• You learn more about birds. Counting birds encourages you to pay closer attention to the feathered visitors in your own backyard and may help you identify species you haven’t noticed before.

How do I participate in the backyard bird count?

Participating in the backyard bird count only requires a few simple steps:

1. Mark your calendar for one or more of the count days in February.
2. Spend at least 15 minutes watching birds in your backyard, local park or other natural area.
3. Identify and count the maximum number of each bird species you see during your count period. Keep track of the numbers.
4. Enter your tally on the official backyard bird count website or through the eBird mobile app. You’ll enter the date, location, how long you watched and the number of birds per species.
5. Be sure to do your counting during the designated dates. The data is only useful when the counts happen over the same short time frame across the continent.

There are tips online for maximizing the number of species and individual birds you’ll see during your count period. Having bird feeders, water sources and various plantings that attract birds will boost your tally.

What do I need for backyard bird counting?

One of the best things about the backyard bird count is that you can participate with minimal equipment and preparation:

• Access to an outdoor space – Your own backyard works great, but you can also observe birds from a neighborhood park, schoolyard, rooftop, courtyard or other semi-natural spot. Areas with trees, shrubs and birdfeeders tend to attract more species.
• A way to identify birds – Many common backyard birds can be identified visually using a field guide, app or with some practice. Binoculars help with more distant birds but are not essential.
• Pen and paper – Simple materials for tallying the species and number of birds you observe during your count period.
• Bird watching know-how – No special skills are needed, though some knowledge of common backyard species in your area is helpful. Confident ID is more important than seeing every single bird.

Optional items that can aid your bird count:

• Bird feeders and bird baths to attract birds to a convenient viewing spot
• Binoculars for better visibility, especially for smaller songbirds
• Bird guide with illustrations to assist with identifications
• Camera with zoom lens to document notable sightings

How do I identify backyard birds?

Being able to identify common backyard birds is a key skill for participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count. Here are some tips for identifying birds:

• Get familiar with birds in your area by studying field guides, photos or birds at your feeder.
• Focus on size, shape, plumage colors, beak shape, wingbars, eye rings and other field marks.
• Note key behaviors like flight pattern, feeding style, song or call.
• Pay attention to habitat – water birds, forest birds, backyard species.
• Use a field guide or birding app to compare your observations and narrow down ID.
• Start with common, easy-to-ID species first. Don’t worry about hard-to-tell birds.
• Take photos of unfamiliar birds to study and get help with ID later.

With practice over time, you’ll get to know the regular visitors to your area and be able to quickly identify them on sight. Focus on improving little by little with each count you do.

What are the most common backyard birds I might see?

The most common backyard birds vary across North America based on habitat and geography. However, below are some of the species seen most frequently on the backyard bird count:

Other visitors like woodpeckers, nuthatches, wrens, American Robin and Northern Mockingbird are also backyard regulars in many parts of North America. The diversity you see will depend on the habitat, food sources and geographic location of your count site.

What kinds of data are collected?

The backyard bird count collects basic but extremely valuable data from participants including:

• Date of the count
• Exact location of count site
• Types of birds seen and individual numbers of each
• Total time spent counting

Counting is usually done within a 15 minute to 1 hour time frame and the maximum number of individuals of each species seen at one time is reported. This gives a snapshot of which birds were present and their relative abundance.

Repeated over thousands of locations, scientists can analyze the results to study bird distribution changes, population trends, presence of rare birds and how birds are responding to environmental changes like climate change and habitat loss.

What do scientists learn from the backyard bird count data?

Scientists are able to gain important insights into bird populations from the backyard bird count data including:

• Distribution maps – Showing where species occur and how ranges expand and contract over time.
• Relative abundance trends – Revealing if numbers are increasing or decreasing for vulnerable species.
• Habitat associations – Linking birds to certain habitat types and conditions.
• Range changes – Tracking if birds are shifting when they migrate or their breeding territory.
• Disease spread – Seeing how bird illnesses spread geographically over time.
• Impacts of weather events – Assessing effects of severe winters, droughts or storms on survival.
• Rare bird alerts – Having volunteers on the ground helps detect unusual species outside their normal range.

Scientists can analyze the volunteer-generated data to study both short term events and long term changes spanning decades. Your contribution each year provides a valuable piece of the puzzle.

What species are scientists paying special attention to?

While all observations contribute to the larger scientific picture, some species that scientists are giving extra focus to in recent backyard bird counts include:

• Evening Grosbeak – Declining numbers over decades.
• Rusty Blackbird – 85% population drop linked to wetland loss.
• Snowy Owl – Irruption movements out of northern ranges.
• Red Crossbill – Complex interactions with cone crops.
• Purple Finch – Expanding its winter range northward.
• Blue Jays – Fluctuating populations and expanding westward.

The backyard bird count offers the best annual snapshot of many species, especially uncommon ones that are hard to survey with other methods. Your help counting them makes a real difference.

How has bird count data been used?

The backyard bird count has generated enormous quantities of data over its 25+ year history. This data has been put to use in many scientific studies and conservation applications including:

• Publishing distribution maps used in field guides and models predicting species occurrences.
• Documenting shifts in winter finch irruption patterns likely linked to changing food sources.
• Tracking the spread of disease organisms like conjunctivitis in House Finches across the continent.
• Modeling population trends in grassland species in declines like Grasshopper Sparrow and Eastern Meadowlark.
• Identifying areas with lead poisoning risk where birds feed on lead shot like American Woodcock.
• Revealing declines in species of conservation concern like Rusty Blackbird and Bank Swallow.

The combination of massive geographic scale and standard protocol makes the backyard bird count an incredibly powerful dataset. Scientists continue mining past results while incorporating each new year’s findings.

What are some notable bird count discoveries?

Some of the most surprising and interesting findings gleaned from backyard bird count data over the years include:

• Cardinal expansion north – Northern Cardinals were detected far north of normal range in Ontario and Quebec, likely expanding with warmer winters.
• Backyard Snowy Owls – These Arctic owls occasionally irrupt south in winter when food is scarce. The counts trace their movements.
• Winter finches – Counts of species like Pine Siskin and Common Redpoll show huge spikes in certain winters linked to food supplies.
• West Nile virus – Detecting declines in species like American Crows provided early warning signs of the virus’ spread.
• Range shifts – Birds like Red-bellied Woodpecker recorded progressively moving northward.
• Rare visitors – Count participants have spotted rare species like Townsend’s Solitaire and Fieldfare far outside their normal range.

The surprise observations show the power of thousands of watchful eyes counting across the continent. Scientists say public participants make connections they could never make alone.

Why is long-term data useful?

Long-term data sets like the backyard bird count are extremely valuable to scientists because they:

• Allow tracking and trend analysis over decades, not just single years.
• Put yearly differences in larger historical context to understand patterns.
• Provide broad geographical coverage impossible for individual researchers.
• Offer insight into rare phenomena by chance observations over many years.
• Reduce natural fluctuations and variability across sites and years.
• Facilitate linking changes to cyclical events like El Nino weather patterns.

Short-term studies can miss long-developing trends or give skewed snapshots misinterpreted as permanent changes. The sustained backyard bird count offers perspective essential for proper analysis.

How has participation in backyard bird count changed?

Participation in the annual backyard bird count has grown enormously over the last 25+ years. Some key trends include:

• About 13,500 checklists in first year (1998) -> over 300,000 checklists in recent years
• Participation across every U.S. state and Canadian province
• About 3,000 species reported historically, 2/3rds of world species
• Over 100 million birds counted in a single year recently
• Growth of online reporting simplifying data entry
• Increase in photos submitted documenting rare sightings

The rapid expansion shows the appeal of this hands-on, volunteer science program. More participation strengthens the data and expands what questions can be studied.

Conclusion

The backyard bird count demonstrates the power of citizen science on a continental scale. Birdwatchers of all abilities contribute to a massive annual data collection effort tracking the ups and downs of bird populations over time. Scientists rely on this robust dataset to study changes in bird health and distributions essential for effective conservation. As more people spend time watching and counting their backyard visitors, our knowledge will continue growing about how birds adapt to an ever-changing world.