Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology Audubon (National Audubon Society) Steve Kelling (Project Leader) Unknown database http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/ The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all levels in counting birds and reporting their results to create a mid-winter snapshot of the numbers, kinds, and distribution of birds across the continent. Participants count birds for as little or as long as they wish during the four-day period and tally the highest number of birds of each species that they see at any one time. At the Great Backyard Bird Count web site, they fill out an online checklist to submit their counts. As the count progresses, anyone with Internet access can explore what is being reported from their own towns or anywhere in the United States and Canada. They can also see how the current year's numbers compare with those from any of the previous years. Participants may also send in photographs of the birds they see. A selection of images is posted in the GBBC online photo gallery. After the count, scientists analyze the results and post summaries highlighting the year's trends and findings. The Great Backyard Bird Count is managed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon, with sponsorship from Wild Birds Unlimited. In 2005, participants sent in 51,926 checklists with a total tally of 6,546,606 birds of 613 species. The 9th annual count took place February 17--20, 2006. Scientists and bird enthusiasts can learn a lot by knowing where the birds are. We want to take a snapshot of North American bird populations during late winter. These data can be combined with observations from other citizen-science projects, such as the Christmas Bird Count, Project FeederWatch, and eBird, to give us an immense picture of our winter birds. 1998 2006 observed In work Annually North America (US and Canada). In 2005, over 50,000 checklists were submitted from all 50 states and all but one Canadian province. -170.00 -50.00 70.00 19.00 None winter birds citizen science citizen-science distribution trends None North America United States U.S. USA Canada None winter February None multiple species birds American Ornithologists' Union 1998 Seventh book http://www.aou.org/checklist/index.php3 Many volunteers have pre-existing knowledge of bird identification or they use published field guides. All species of birds. Kingdom Animalia animals Phylum Chordata chordates Subphylum Vertebrata vertebrates Class Aves birds None None Steve Kelling Cornell Lab of Ornithology IS Director mailing and physical

159 Sapsucker Woods Rd.

Ithaca NY 14850 USA 607-254-2478 stk2@cornell.edu We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the thousands of volunteers who make this project possible each year. The Great Backyard Bird Count is a joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon. Sponsors include: Wild Birds Unlimited, Cornell Information Technologies, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and the National Science Foundation (NSF). The data are maintained in an Oracle database at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. These data are collected by participants of varying abilities. Many steps are taken to ensure that the data are as complete and accurate as possible. First, detailed instructions and educational material are provided on the web site. Second, state and regional checklists have been created by experts in bird occurrence for that particular region. Third, for each species on each checklist a maximum count that can be reported is set. If the reported count exceeds the checklist maximum, that observation is flagged for review. Fourth, state and regional editors, who are experts in the distribution and abundance of bird populations in their area, use an editing review application. This application allows them to review both flagged and unflagged records, contact observers, and allows them to accept or reject reports. If reports are rejected they do not appear on any of the maps, graphs, or other data output. not applicable These data are collected by volunteers of varying abilities. Completeness does vary from observer to observer. The location of each count site is determined either by zip or postal code; nearest town; or national park, forest, or other national land. The sampling locations are determined by the individual participants. Field None checklist Participants count the birds in their backyard, local park, or other natural area on one or all four count days. They can count in as many different locations as they wish, but they must keep separate records and fill out a checklist for each area. They watch the birds for at least 15 minutes on each day that they participate. It is recommended that they watch for a half-hour or more, so that they'll have a good sense of what birds are in their area. How to count: On the day(s) that they count, particpants watch their bird feeders or take a short walk (less than 1 mile) in their neighborhood or park. For each kind (species) of bird that they see, they keep track of the highest number of individuals that they observe at any one time. At the end of the day, checklists are submitted on the GBBC web site. Checklists include information about location, local habitat, count duration, and high counts for each species sighted on that day and location. Particpants can submit one bird checklist for each day that they count or for each new area that they count in. No process steps have been described for this data set Unknown The location of each count site is determined either by zip or postal code; nearest town; or national park, forest, or other national land. Point 0.001 0.001 Decimal degrees The data set includes: date of observation, location, species, highest number seen at one time, local habitats, count duration, number of particpants, snow depth, and weather conditions. The GBBC web site has more information about the data that is collected. Cornell Lab of Ornithology Tom Fredericks Database Administrator mailing and physical

159 Sapsucker Woods Rd.

Ithaca NY 14850 USA 607-254-2479 taf1@cornell.edu Great Backyard Bird Count. No warranty, expressed or implied, is made regarding the accuracy or utility of these data. website http://gbbc.birdsource.org/gbbcApps/results none Please contact the distributor to order Great Backyard Bird Count data. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) mailing

GBIF Secretariat, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100

Copenhagen unknown unknown Denmark +45 35 32 14 70 +45 35 32 14 80 gbif@gbif.org URL: http://www.gbif.org/ AKN - Great Backyard Bird Count Data These data are made available through the Avian Knowledge Network, a National Science Foundation funded project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Department of Computer Science at Cornell University. No warranty either expressed or implied is made regarding the accuracy of these data. website http://www.gbif.org/ Some GBBC data are available for viewing or downloading via the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. None 20060227 Jim Lowe Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology mailing and physical

159 Sapsucker Woods Road

Ithaca NY 14850 USA 607-254-2413 JDL6@cornell.edu E-Mail is preferred. FGDC Biological Data Profile of the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata FGDC-STD-001.1-1999