Date: 2/13/25 7:20 am From: Taylor Long <00000455b6b08e87-dmarc-request...> Subject: Great Backyard Bird Count this weekend: Fri, Feb 14 - Mon, Feb 17
Greetings birders,
Annual Reminder: The Great Backyard Bird Count
<https://www.birdcount.org/> (GBBC) will be celebrated around the world
this Friday, February 14th – Monday, February 17th. It's a great excuse
to get yourself outside during a relatively "slow" time of year to
appreciate the peace of winter birding before the frenzy of spring is
upon us. I encourage you all to submit at least one eBird checklist of
15 minutes or more to join the count. The weather looks pretty
miserable, but backyard birding is clearly encouraged!
This event, more than any other, has a history of attracting new
birders. As experienced birders, this is a great time to be an
ambassador for birding, whether it's online answering questions like
"What's this bird?" or chatting with folks at your local patch who seem
curious about the birds you're watching. Remember that this week and
weekend, there may be more folks than usual who are trying out birding
for the first time. Let's make them feel welcome!
One side-effect of having lots of new folks participating is that eBird
submissions can get a little chaotic at this time of year. If you're a
regular eBird user, you might notice the "GBBC effect" in two ways:
1. You may see more eBird Alerts for rare and/or out-of-season species
reported by folks who don't know what birds are expected or even how
to use a field guide. This is just evidence of our eBird filters
doing their job. We reviewers will do our best to sort through these
in a timely manner to weed out reports that are clear
misidentifications.
2. You may notice some species on your eBird checklist being flagged for
lower numbers than usual. Some eBird filters are set more strictly
during this week, specifically for GBBC, to do a better job catching
species that are commonly misidentified. Please continue to provide
documentation for flagged observations to set a good example for
others. The filters will go back to normal soon.
One way all eBirders can help support good data quality during this time
is to keep an eye on checklists being submitted in your local patches.
If you notice eBird checklists with protocol issues, location issues,
distance/time issues, or anything else that doesn't look right, feel
free to email me with a link to the checklist in question:
<mtaylorlong...> <mailto:<mtaylorlong...>
These checklists are often the first brave attempt of a new birder to
participate in eBird. If we catch them early and guide them with a
little patience and understanding, hopefully, they'll keep going. Who
knows: they may even blossom into key figures in our birding community.
One day, you don't know a Hairy from a Downy. Fast forward a few years,
and you're the president of your local Audubon chapter. We've all seen
it happen. Let's try to treat each new birder this week as a future bird
community leader.
