It’s the Great Backyard Bird Count!
Red-crowned Parrot: One of several species I saw in my first GBBC
One of my earliest memories of doing a real bird count and submitting a checklist goes back exactly ten years ago when I participated in my first Great Backyard Bird Count. With my interest in birding starting to bud, I was down in SoCal visiting my family when I learned about this annual birding event. The rules were different, something about only recording the highest number of birds you see at a single time unless you were positive you were not recounting the same bird(s). You also noted things like your skill level, habitat, weather, and snow level – data that the birder no longer needs to enter into eBird checklists.
Armed with a paper notebook and pen, I was excited to participate in this activity for the first time. We scoured Irvine and Costa Mesa for birds. One new location yielded the non-native Egyptian Goose, several hummingbirds, and dozens of crows. But what I remember the most was popping up over a hill and feeling my head whirl when I found a couple hundred waterfowl crammed into a little pond. Everyone in my party moaned at the unbelievable task before us of counting them all. This was my first experience attempting to count what felt like a huge number of birds. I diligently ticked off every single bird for a total of 78 American Wigeons, 88 Mallards, and 23 American Coots. What a huge number for my first ever GBBC experience!
I did my first GBBC checklist of 2021 while looking out the apartment window this morning, thinking how much has changed in ten years. These days it’s easier than ever to record bird sightings. Our smartphones allow us to use eBird, automatically capturing data like distance traveled and time spent birding. It’s now permissible to give an estimate of the number of birds seen. Submitting a checklist do not require transferring data from a notepad to your desktop computer at home. Very convenient.
I hope you will join this annual event over the next four days. If you’ve never done it before, I encourage you to give it a try. Not only do your sightings contribute to bird conservation, it’s a great way to decompress and be in nature. Grab a friend or a Valentine sweetheart and have fun!