Cornell Lab of Ornithology recently reported the results of the 2012 Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). Over President’s Day weekend this past February families throughout N. America counted the birds they saw in their backyard and then sent their count info to Cornell to be compiled and analyzed. This was the 15th year for the GBBC. Here are some highlights:
- Over 104,000 count lists were submitted. That is a lot of bird watchers.
- More than 620 different species of birds were seen.
- A total of over 17 million individual birds were seen.
- 2012 numbers confirmed the invasion of Snowy Owls reported this winter, more than 4 times the numbers seen in 2011, with record numbers in the Midwest.
- Year-to-year changes in count data reveal the rapid range expansion of Eurasian Collared-Doves. 10 years ago they were rare southern birds. This year Canadians reported twice as many as they did last year.
For a more detailed summary of this year’s GBBC trends visit www.birdcount.org
Cornell Lab sponsors many similar bird studies that encourage the participation of the general public (they call us “citizen scientists”). It is fun and satisfying to be able to participate in scientific studies. Why not join one of their studies?
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