Photo by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service/Lee Karney • The Clapper Rail is abundant in saltwater marshes and mangrove swamps from Massachusetts to South America. Observant participants in the Great Backyard Bird Count are sure to find some of these reclusive birds.

I look forward every year to the annual Great Backyard Bird Count, a survey established as a citizen science project back in 1998. Since 2013, the GBBC has been a global effort, allowing birders around the world to take part. Participants in 2015 observed almost half of the world’s known bird species, and that effort was surpassed just last year during the 2016 count. Over the years, I have counted various interesting birds, including green-winged teal, Ross’s goose, snow goose, American kestrel and Cooper’s hawk, while taking part in the GBBC.

The GBBC is a joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society with partner Bird Studies Canada. With its global perspective, a great many exotic bird species are now tallied on the annual GBBC, but the survey remains firmly established as a grassroots effort to compile data crucial for the conservation of the world’s beloved birds. The information gathered by tens of thousands of volunteers helps track the health of bird populations at a scale that would not otherwise be possible.

Photo by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service/Steve Hillebrand • Parakeet Auklets in flight in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The Great Backyard Bird Count extends beyond North America and now covers the entire globe.

It’s incredibly easy to take part in the GBBC. Anyone anywhere in the world can count birds for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the four-day count period and enter their sightings at http://www.BirdCount.org. There’s no charge or fee for taking part in the GBBC, which is a fun way to observe a variety of birds. Thanks to the flexible count criteria, it is also an easy way to make a contribution to science. The data delivered by the thousands of participants is now collected and compiled by the website ebird.org.

This year’s GBBC will be held over a four-day period, starting on Friday, Feb. 17, and continuing through Monday, Feb. 20. Participants are invited to count birds at their own homes in their yards and gardens. They can also travel farther into the field, birding in their favorite parks, wildlife refuges or other birding hot spots. Participants can count alone or join with groups of fellow birders. Those taking part in the GBBC are invited to count in as many locations as they like. The reported results will help create a real-time snapshot of where birds are distributed during the winter months.

Photo by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service/Lee Karney • A pair of Sandhill Cranes in a New Mexico wetland.

The 2016 Great Backyard Bird Count saw 142 species of birds reported in Tennessee. In Virginia, a total of 177 species was counted by participants in the annual survey. The Old Dominion State has a distinct advantage over landlocked Tennessee in having ample coastal access to the Atlantic Ocean, which helps explain the more than 30 additional species tallied in Virginia. Birds like brown pelican, American oystercatcher, Northern gannet, purple sandpiper and great black-backed gull represented finds not found in Tennessee.

Both states were outpaced by GBBC participants in North Carolina, who managed to find an incredible total of 213 species, including red-cockaded woodpecker, little blue heron, razorbill, brant, parasitic jaeger, Northern fulmar and Western tanager.

Overall, the top three species-rich states were Florida (323), Texas (359) and California (369). In the lower 48 states of the United States, a total of 616 species of birds were reported for the 2016 GBBC.

Photo by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service/Richard Baetsen • Sharp-tailed grouse engaged in a mating display. Keeping track of populations of vulnerable species is a major component of the annual GBBC.

The 2016 GBBC shattered records. An estimated 163,763 bird watchers from more than 130 countries joined the effort. Participants submitted 162,052 bird checklists reporting 5,689 species, which is more than half the known bird species in the world and 599 more species than the previous year. So, what results will 2017 produce?

Social media, like Facebook and Twitter, have helped raise awareness about the importance of the GBBC, which has proven helpful in tracking long-term population trends of North American birds, as well as the bird populations on other continents. If anything, counting birds during the GBBC is an easy way to do your part to advance the cause of science intended to improve the plight of our beloved birds. So, circle the dates on your calendar and join me in taking part in the upcoming Great Backyard Bird Count. For more information on the Great Backyard Bird Count, visit www.BirdCount.org.

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Bryan Stevens lives near Roan Mountain, Tennessee. To learn more about birds and other topics from the natural world, friend Stevens on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ahoodedwarbler. He is always posting about local birds, wildlife, flowers, insects and much more. If you have a question, wish to make a comment or share a sighting, email ahoodedwarbler@aol.com.

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