Great Backyard Bird Count

The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is February 16-19, 2024

VMS opportunity: Citizen Science (other)

Spend time in your favorite places watching birds–then tell us about them! In as little as 15 minutes notice the birds around you. Identify them, count them, and submit them to help scientists better understand and protect birds around the world. If you already use eBird or Merlin, your submissions over the 4-days count towards GBBC.

Whether you are an avid bird watcher or just enjoy catching a glimpse of that cardinal who visits your “backyard”, you can be a citizen scientist during the Great Backyard Bird Count this February and earn volunteer service hours for your field research.

Learn all about this global event here: https://www.birdcount.org/

Many of us have participated year after year because it is so much fun and easy and always a great opportunity to learn more about the birds around us. Hope you’ll join in this year.

Now, here are some TIPS FOR RECORDING YOUR HOURS IN VMS:

* Every time you observe and submit your bird observations, make a note of your time (remember 15 minute minimum for each observation period).

*That means if you observed for 15 minutes then took another 5 minutes to submit your checklists, that’s 20 minutes to make a note of.

* If you go to a particular location specifically to do your bird count, for example, going to a local park to observe birds at that location, you may also add in travel time.

* At the end of the 4 days (midnight on Monday), or whenever you know you won’t be making any more observations, add up your times.

* On Tuesday, log into VMS and choose Citizen Science – other.

* Since this is one of the “field research” opportunities, you can put in begin and end dates so enter Feb. 16 and Feb. 19.

* Enter the TOTAL number of hours (to the nearest quarter hour) you spent over the 4 days.

* In Description, make sure you put Great Backyard Bird Count.

That’s it!

AND, there’s more!! On Cornell’s birdcount site you will see a reference to Other 2024 Webinars. Texas Master Naturalists can earn AT hours for two of those webinars: Beyond the Backyard (Tues Feb 13) and Merlin ID Trivia: North American Birds (Thurs Feb 15). If you watch the webinars, log your AT in VMS in the AT: Citizen Science Project Training opportunity and complete the description field with the full title of the webinar, and the sponsor (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), and the word Webinar.

For more information on the Great Backyard Bird Count, including details on how to participate, click here.