General Questions
Answers
Bird populations are constantly changing. No single scientist or team of scientists could hope to keep track of the complicated patterns of movement of so many species over an entire continent. The information from GBBC participants even more valuable as scientists try to learn how birds are affected by environmental changes.
The information you send in can provide the first sign that individual species may be increasing or declining from year to year. It shows how a species’ range expands or shrinks over time. A big change, noted consistently over a period of years, is an indication that something is happening in the environment that is affecting the birds and that should be followed up on. GBBC information also allows us to look at what kinds of birds inhabit different areas, such as cities versus suburban.
All the information from the GBBC and other surveys goes into a massive bird database called the Avian Knowledge Network. AKN now holds 66.8 million records of bird observations which are used by scientists around the world.
It gives us a snapshot of how birds are surviving the winter and where they are located just before spring migrations begin in March. Scientists at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the National Audubon Society, and elsewhere can combine this information with data from surveys conducted at different times of the year.
Actually, you can record your bird-watching observations online anytime, anywhere, with eBird. Like the GBBC, eBird allows bird watchers to explore data from around the continent and keep track of their own observations over time with charts and maps. If the GBBC has whetted your appetite for more backyard bird projects, find out about other citizen-science projects at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society.
The reason we get such great information from the GBBC is that so many people participate. Because the GBBC is a short four-day project, most people feel comfortable making a commitment to take part on one or more of those days. If you’d like to do more, check out some of the citizen-science projects offered through the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
If you’re interested in helping spread the word about the GBBC, you can become one of our special GBBC ambassadors. Your contribution may be as simple as distributing the GBBC poster in your area. Or you can do more, by printing the press release off this web site and sending it to your local paper, bird club, library, birding store, and other locations. Media ambassadors consent to be interviewed for local stories about the project. Some people give presentations on how to do the GBBC with the help of the PowerPoint slide program we provide on this web site. Last year, ambassadors coordinated GBBC events at nature centers, senior centers, and other locations.
It isn’t easy—last year GBBC participants submitted more than 4,000 images! We post a selection of images on the GBBC web site photo gallery as they are submitted. After the event, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon begin the months-long process of sorting through each and every photo, rating them based on artistic merit and technical skill—such as focus, lighting, composition, color, and degree of effort required to obtain the shot. Judges from the Lab and Audubon make their final selections in a number of categories, including best overall, best composition, most interesting behavior, best group shot, and best habitat shot. The results are announced before the next GBBC, and prizes awarded. See photo contest rules.
Many excellent field guides are available in book stores. Some people find it easier to identify birds using photographs. Others prefer an artist’s drawing. Be sure whatever guide you choose includes a range map for each species so you know whether or not you’re likely to see a bird in your area. You can choose a guide to all the birds of North America or one that is limited to your geographic region or even your state. The free online bird guide on the All About Birds web site has descriptions of hundreds of species, with photos and sound recordings that will also help you identify birds.
If you entered an email address when you participated in the past, and it has not changed, then you will get a couple of reminders about the upcoming GBBC.
The National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology promote the event across the continent, via magazines, newspapers, radio, television, birding organizations, libraries, and other outlets in both the United States and Canada. We also rely on participants to help spread the word to family, friends, co-workers, and acquaintances. If you can help us do a better job of spreading the word, please consider becoming a GBBC ambassador.
