Can you spare 15 minutes for the birds next weekend (Feb. 18-21)? It will be the time of the annual, four-day Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society.
It’s a chance to become a “citizen-scientist” and help researchers collect data on how birds in Georgia — and all over the world — are doing. Anyone can take part, from beginning bird-watchers to experts, and you can participate from your backyard, neighborhood park, schoolyard, church grounds or anywhere else where birds are found.
And it’s not only in Georgia — you can do it in nearly any other part of the world. The 25-year-old GBBC once was restricted to North America, but it is now a global event that includes participants in 190 countries.
More than 6,000 Georgians across the state took part last year. To me, it’s nice to know that while I’m tallying birds in my yard in Decatur, some family is doing the same in their neighborhood in, say, the state of Uttarakhand in northern India, all for the same common goal.
By the way, Uttarakhand had the highest number of reported species, 425, in last year’s count. Georgia had some 185 species.
But no matter where you’re located, to participate in the GBBC, all you have to do is spend at least 15 minutes between Friday, Feb. 18, and Monday, Feb. 21, counting the birds that you see or hear in your backyard or other venue. You can participate by yourself or with a group.
Then, go to the website birdcount.org/participate/ to report your results via smartphone or computer. The website also provides instructions for counting the birds.
Several Georgia cities, nature centers, public gardens, state parks and other places will host special activities in connection with the count.
Scientists say data from the GBBC helps them determine, among other things, the locations, populations and movements of thousands of bird species around the world — and whether they’re declining, increasing or holding steady.
Who knows? The love of birds might bring the world together.
IN THE SKY: From David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer: The moon will be full on Wednesday, the “Bony Moon.” The only planets visible now are Mercury, Venus and Mars, low in the east just before sunrise.
Charles Seabrook can be reached at charles.seabrook@yahoo.com.
