Great BackYard Bird Count 2021 eBird Assistance

What is the Great Backyard Bird Count?
The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is an international birdwatching event hosted by National Audubon Society, Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada. It takes place on President's Day weekend, February 12 -15 this year. It involves getting out to bird watch anywhere, from your local parks to your own backyard, making a bird list and submitting it to the birdwatching site eBird.
Would you like to participate in the upcoming Great Backyard Bird Count but can't because you don't use eBird or the Merlin ID app? No problem, we have you covered!
We have an eBird account for our chapter and we love receiving bird checklists from our community members. If you make a bird list during the Great Backyard Bird Count and send it to use through email or social media, we will upload it to our eBird, and you will be counted! To help you we created this little instruction sheet.

How to make Your own Bird list

What You Need:

First off, paper to write your list on and a writing utensil (mechanical pens work best).

Next, you need a time piece, such as a watch or smartphone.

Optional: binoculars and a bird field guide.

When starting your list, first record the location you chose to bird at, such as Rancho San Rafael Park or Virginia Lake, or your own backyard. Also record the time you start looking for birds on the list. Write down the total number of people who are in your birding group as your party number. Record the name of the species you observe and the number of each species using species using tally marks. 

A completed bird list.

When you are finished with your checklist, feel free to take a photo of it and send us your bird list via email at the contact us form. Or feel free to send us your bird list  via a private message to our Facebook or Instagram pages.
Good luck and have fun on the GBBC!


IMPORTANT NOTE: We at Lahontan Audubon Society are passionate about encouraging birdwatching by sharing bird sightings through our public eBird account. However, we are committed to protecting your personal privacy, such as your name and home address, through the following ethics.

• By default, we will not disclose your name on our account unless you give us permission in your message. All submitted checklists will be anonymous
  
• We only share submitted checklist's locations from well known public areas, such as Virginia Lake or Rancho San Rafael Park. By default,  checklists from other locations will not disclosed unless you give us permission in your message.
  

For example, if we received a bird list from Bob Birder at 1234 Finch St., we would post our list as "anonymous" from the "Finch Street neighborhood"; unless the sender explicitly gave us permission to share their name and address.