[PAS-Announce] Great Backyard Bird Count

[Palouse Audubon announcements list.]

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

11th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count 

February 15 - 18, 2008

 Count for Fun, Count for the Future!

 

Dear Great Backyard Bird Count participant,

Your chance to take part in the eleventh Great Backyard Bird Count
(GBBC) comes up in a few short weeks. Don't miss out on this great
opportunity to have fun and help us find out where the birds are this
winter. Read on for new and exciting features of this year's event.

What's new this year?

Check out the GBBC website (www.birdcount.org) for improved features,
including:

Ability to submit YouTube bird videos. The best videos will be posted on
the GBBC website 
Expanded sparrow identification page 
New bird call identification game for kids 
New FAQ section and narrated GBBC overview
Spread the Word
We hope you'll spread the word this year by encouraging your friends to
participate. You can forward this email to them or direct them to visit
the website at www.birdcount.org. Remember:  the GBBC is fun, free, and
helps birds!

Win something cool
When you send in your checklist this year, you will automatically be
entered in a prize drawing to win items like binoculars, bird feeders,
and a variety of great books!  Check out
http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/press/news-stories/prize-list-for-2008
for a listing of prizes.

Submit Photos to our Online Gallery and photo contest
During the count, take digital photos of birds (and bird watchers!) and
submit them to the GBBC website. All photos submitted will be entered in
the photo contest, and some will be posted in an online gallery. Images
will be accepted through March 1.

Your counting counts
In 2007, GBBC participants made history, breaking records for the number
of birds reported and number of checklists submitted. Participants sent
in more than 80,000 checklists tallying over 11 million birds of 613
species. Last year, as a result of your counts, we discovered that many
bird species had already started their spring migrations in
February-earlier than in decades past. Your counts help us build a
long-term record of where people are finding birds and how many birds
there are. Although your bird counts need to take place from February
15-18, you can submit data as late as March 1, 2008. If you have any
questions, please contact us at citizenscience at audubon.org or
cornellbirds at cornell.edu.

Remember, count for fun, count for the future!  We can't wait to see
what you discover this year.  

Sincerely,

Janis Dickinson, Director of Citizen Science, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Rob Fergus, Senior Scientist, National Audubon Society
Melissa Hopkins, Education Associate, National Audubon Society