Come on, Bay Area bird enthusiasts, here’s your challenge: let’s turn in more bird reports than Sacramento this year! I was looking over the report for last year and noticed that San Francisco and Oakland combined reports totaled just over 100 while Sacramento turned in over 200 reports. In the name of good fun and science, let’s see if we can beat Sacramento’s record from last year!
The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is a young event, only sixteen years old, compared to the Christmas Bird Count, which is 112 years old. It’s already gone international, though, with countries participating around the globe. The goal is a worthy one: to try and capture over the course of a weekend a significant sampling of all the birds wherever people find them –- especially targeting urban areas around our neighborhoods.
You’re probably wondering, “How can I get in on this amazing, easy event?” You simply step outside into your nearest outdoor space –- your yard, balcony, neighborhood park, or even a street -– and identify and count as many bird species as you can see over the course of 15 minutes. The GBBC website has some links to help you, from bird lists to bird identification pages. After your short bird watching session, you can go to the website to report your findings. That’s it. Your efforts will help us double our reports from last year! You can, of course, watch for longer than 15 minutes and submit more than one list.
The GBBC website has some cool statistical modeling from past years which shows each reported species’ mapped presences over time in an area. With increasing participation of thousands, even tens of thousands of volunteer bird counters, this event can be of great use to scientists and land managers. If the GBBC has inspired you to learn more about this great hobby of bird watching, there are many places you can go to enjoy it with others or on your own. In fact, East Bay Regional Parks naturalists offer free bird watching walks perfect for beginners or for experienced birders looking for company on various weekends or weekday mornings; check the program listings on their website. The Audubon Society has local chapters that also offer free programs. See the Golden Gate Audubon website for more information.