The
Great Backyard Bird Count is a citizen science program of Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology that relies on people to provide a "snapshot" of bird populations in February.
"Citizen-science projects like the
Great Backyard Bird Count are springing up all over the world," explains Jon McCracken, national program manager at Bird Studies Canada.
Piggybacking on the
Great Backyard Bird Count is another way to get trained eyes out in the woods.
"Taking part in the
Great Backyard Bird Count is a great way to get outside with family and friends, have fun, and help birds--all at the same time," says Audubon Education Vice President Judy Braus.
"The
Great Backyard Bird Count is a community celebration of birds, birding and nature," says Janis Dickinson, director of Citizen Science at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
"The
Great Backyard Bird Count has become a vitally important means of gathering data to help birds, but it can't happen unless people take part."
Launched in 1998, the annual
Great Backyard Bird Count, for example, attracted 14,000 volunteers that year and 60,000 in 2001.
To learn more, go to www.birdsource.org and click on the "
Great Backyard Bird Count" button, or call 1-800-843-2473.
NORTHBRIDGE - Students in the Whitinsville Christian School aftercare program, along with a kindergarten and a second grade class, took part in the
Great Backyard Bird Count from Feb.
Visitors receive training and hands-on guidance in how to participate in programs including Woodcock Watch, FrogWatch, Firefly Watch, Butterfly Census, Bat Count, and the
Great Backyard Bird Count. Whether through the programs at the Center or at home, visitors to Five Rivers contribute to scientific research on wildlife.
In my Northern Hemisphere's Sky column on page 50 I introduce the idea for an annual Great Backyard Star Count and an interactive Web site modeled after the
Great Backyard Bird Count. I'm pretty sure that amateur astronomers have the computer power and savvy to create a barebones version of such a Web site.