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In this issue: 2014 GBBC stats and an invitation to keep counting.
 

GBBC eNewsletter 

March 2014

Fast Facts & Stats

It’s time to put the exclamation point at the end of another exciting, record-breaking Great Backyard Bird Count with a look at how the February 14-17 GBBC stacked up by the numbers:
Number of checklists: 144,109
Species observed: 4,296
Countries participating: 135
Estimated number of participants: 142,051

Top 10 countries by number of checklists
Rank Country # Checklists
1 United States 124,310
2 Canada 13,458
3 India 3,358
4 Australia 908
5 Mexico 546
6 Chile 356
7 Costa Rica 256
8 Puerto Rico 196
9 United Kingdom 162
10 Portugal 149

Head over to the GBBC website to explore more results, including other Top 10 Lists. 
Roger Becker of Michigan submitted this amusing image with the caption: "We're over here, behind you!"

Top Reasons to Keep Counting with eBird

Now that you've contributed to the Great Backyard Bird Count, we hope you will keep sharing your observations year-round with eBird. Why? Here are three of the top reasons:
 
1. Birding with a Purpose. If you already love to watch birds, sharing your observations is a small step that can make a big difference. Recently, eBird was featured in the journal Biological Conservation, highlighting how your checklists are used to advance science and conservation.
2. Keeping Track of Your Sightings. Recording your observations in eBird allows you to keep your personal checklists in one, permanently archived place so you can enjoy memories from the past and see how your sightings fit in to the big picture across continents and through time.
3. It's Easy to Get Started. You can use your same user name and password from the GBBC to enter bird checklists with eBird. We invite you to get started today at www.ebird.org.
Carolina Chickadee (left) by Diane Lepkowski/GBBC; Black-capped Chickadee by Ann Marie Halstead/GBBC

Climate Change Affects Beloved Species

We see them everywhere and, perhaps, take them a bit for granted: the familiar Black-capped Chickadee and its near lookalike, the Carolina Chickadee. These two species and their hybrids are gradually shifting northward in response to a changing climate. Observations from eBird helped bring this trend to light in a new study. Read more. And here are a few tips on how to tell the two species apart.
Pygmy Nuthatches by Wendy Rae, MT, 2014 GBBC

Thank You!

The Great Backyard Bird Count would not be possible without so many of you taking the time to watch birds and share what you are seeing during the four days of the count. Thank you for helping to create this year's historic snapshot of bird populations across the world. See you next year for the 18th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, February 13-16, 2015!
 

The next GBBC is
February 13-16, 2015

Join the Club!

Attracting, feeding, and learning about birds is fun for the entire family, any time of year. To enhance your enjoyment of birds and nature, consider joining the free Wild Bird Club, a family-friendly way to learn about activities, contests, live bird cams, and all kinds of information about feeding wild birds.

Photo Contest Prizes

It was another big year for entries to the GBBC photo contest. Participants submitted nearly 4,500 images. You can explore more than 1,000 of these photos in the GBBC online photo gallery. Whether or not an image appears in the online gallery, ALL submitted photos will be considered for the contest. 

We're grateful once again to sponsors Wild Birds Unlimited and Droll Yankees for donating great prizes that will be awarded to the top winners in each of the six photo contest categories. They include WBU's Fundamentals Squirrel-Proof Feeder shown above, and the Droll Yankees Onyx Clever Clean Finch Magnet feeder shown below.
Visit Wild Birds Unlimited, a sponsor of the Great Backyard Bird Count!

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a nonprofit membership institution interpreting and conserving the earth’s biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds. Visit the Cornell Lab website at www.birds.cornell.edu

Audubon is dedicated to protecting birds and other wildlife and the habitat that supports them. Our national network of community-based nature centers and chapters, scientific and educational programs, and advocacy on behalf of areas sustaining important bird populations, engage millions of people of all ages and backgrounds in conservation. www.audubon.org

Bird Studies Canada administers regional, national, and international research and monitoring programs that advance the understanding, appreciation, and conservation of wild birds and their habitats. We are Canada's national body for bird conservation and science, and we are a non-governmental charitable organization. www.birdscanada.org
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Road
Ithaca, NY 14850
Call toll-free (800) 843-2473

National Audubon Society   
225 Varick Street
New York, NY 10014
Call: (202) 600-7962
 

Bird Studies Canada
Box 160
Port Rowan, ON N0E 1M0 Canada
Call: (888) 448-2473 or (519) 586-3531
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