New Yorkers contribute greatly to bird count

PHOTOGRAPHER: Jessica Harding

The results from the 13th annual Great Backyard Bird Count are in, and once again, New Yorkers contributed the most to the event.

New Yorkers submitted more checklists than any other state. Locally, Saratoga Springs ranked seventh for the most checklists submitted in the state and Schenectady ranked eighth.

The Great Backyard Bird Count, organized by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University, the Audubon Society and Bird Studies Canada, urges average citizens across the country to watch the birds in their back yards for 15 minutes and count the species they see.

The results provide a snapshot of the whereabouts of hundreds of different bird species on a given weekend.

New Yorkers submitted 5,715 checklists that included sightings of 157 different bird species. Californians contributed the second most — 5,328 checklists.

For the past 13 years, New York has had either the highest or second-highest participation.

“We have a history of birdwatching that is hard to beat around here,” said Pat Leonard of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, spokeswoman for the Great Backyard Bird Count.

Having the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in New York probably helps, too. The lab, which is specifically for the study of birds, is the only institution of its kind in the world, Leonard said.

The longer the count continues, the more useful the data become, she said, because scientists can detect trends. Additionally, the more participation there is, the better the data are. In the past four to five years, the event has “taken on a life of its own,” with nature centers and parks using it as an excuse to get people together to watch birds and take in nature.

The count is done in February because it is the time when birds have migrated as far south as they are going to go. For Northerners, the leaves have fallen and the birds are easier to spot.

“Plus, it’s a boring time of year, so why not,” Leonard said.

A national chain of bird supply stores, Wild Birds Unlimited, sponsors the event and works to promote it across the country.

Wild Birds Unlimited in Saratoga Springs offered a free two-pound bag of the store’s Choice Blend birdseed to anyone who submitted a checklist for the count. Store customers submitted 46 checklists, according to co-owner Nancy Castillo. Saratogians submitted 61 checklists total.

Castillo, who posted the information on her blog, reported that customers saw 28 different bird species during the count. The black-capped chickadee was seen most frequently, but mourning doves were seen in the greatest numbers.

Results from the count are used to provide a large picture of bird habits and movement, Leonard said, so data for a specific area are not analyzed, unless something interesting is happening there.

The greatest result of the Great Backyard Bird Count, though, is the interest it cultivates in birdwatching and preserving nature.

Staff at the Saratoga Wild Birds Unlimited reported that more people became interested in birds and birdwatching after participating in the event.

Peg Cutler of Moreau, a Wild Birds Unlimited employee, said she participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count because she liked feeling like she was making a contribution.

“It’s fun to participate and know that you’re helping out,” she said. “It’s free. It doesn’t take much time, and it’s educational.”

Cutler said she submitted three checklists for the count. The “coolest” thing she saw was a flock of at least 200 crows.

“They aren’t the prettiest birds, but it was neat to see that many keep coming and coming,” she said.

Technology had greatly increased the number of citizen scientist projects. The GBBC is primarily conducted online and nearly 100,000 checklists are submitted from the four-day event.

Citizen scientist projects are starting across the country for a variety of research initiatives including for plants, stars and even frogs, Leonard said.

“These things are so widespread that you need everyone’s eyes because as a scientist you can’t be everywhere,” she said.