Date: 2/13/25 8:41 pm From: Cheryl Johnson <000008c5ea29ea88-dmarc-request...> Subject: Re: Great Backyard Bird Count this weekend: Fri, Feb 14 - Mon, Feb 17
Thanks, Taylor! I love this about birders: accepting and encouraging of newbies. Get Outlook for iOS
From: The Birds of Arkansas Discussion List <ARBIRD-L...> on behalf of Taylor Long <00000455b6b08e87-dmarc-request...> Sent: Thursday, February 13, 2025 9:21 AM To: <ARBIRD-L...> <ARBIRD-L...> Subject: Great Backyard Bird Count this weekend: Fri, Feb 14 - Mon, Feb 17 Greetings birders,
Annual Reminder: The Great Backyard Bird Count (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...>
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.
