CHESTER
COUNTY
February 2022
The Great Backyard Bird Count BY FRANCINE FULTON
P
eople of all ages are invited to take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), a free, fun and easy event open to bird watchers of all ages. As part of the annual program, participants are asked to count birds in their own backyards or any site of their choice during this year’s GBBC, which will take place from Friday, Feb. 18, through Monday, Feb. 21. Participants are asked to watch the birds for 15 minutes or more at least once over the four days and then report their sightings online or on the free eBird mobile app. Complete information and instructions on how to enter data can be found at www.bird count.org by choosing “Participate.” “You can count birds on any of the
days and report it to the website, where you enter the birds you have seen,” explained Carol Majors, a member of the West Chester Bird Club. “It used to be that you count birds at your feeder. Now, you can count birds anywhere.” According to the website, the GBBC was launched in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society as a way for the community to collect data on wild birds and to display results in near real time. The data submitted by the public helps scientists to better understand global bird populations. “There is a database of bird sightings that is maintained by Cornell University, so people all over the world can go out birding anywhere and record their sightings in the database,” said Majors. “(The
data) gives ornithologists research material. They can see where bird (populations) are declining, or they can see trends where they are breeding or migrating to.” Majors is in charge of collecting data from members of the West Chester Bird Club. Founded in 1910, it is one of the oldest continually active bird clubs in the United States. “People assume it’s a Chester County club, (but) anyone can join from any place,” she noted. In addition to taking part in various bird counts, club members participate in field trips. Every Thursday, members can be found at Exton Park, 800 E. Swedesford Road, taking part in a bird walk from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. The walks are sponsored by the Friends of Exton Park.
Each walk at the park is led by a group leader who guides attendees as they search for birds. “You never know what you will see. A lot of experienced birders like to go out because they might see something that is rare,” Majors said, noting that a snowy owl was recently spotted in Lancaster. “A snowy owl lives (farther north) and sometimes they come down in the winter when there isn’t enough food where they are.” Members of the club, who pay a yearly fee, also take part in monthly club meetings, which are currently held via Zoom. A list of programs and field trips can be found at the aforementioned website. For the 2022 GBBC, it is recommended that people practice social distancing while bird watching and wear a mask when birding with others.
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