The Great Backyard Bird Count

Celebrate this Valentine’s Day with Feathered Friends!

Join The Great Backyard Bird Count

Valentine’s Day is round the corner – and so are the mid semester exams (Why?!). Wish to take a break from the monotony of study, and to fall in love – with birds? Join the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) from 12^th to 15^th February.

The GBBC is an annual citizen-science project spearheaded by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society. The data on backyard birds collected by this project is used for studying their migration pattern, population distribution, and diversity amongst other things. Nearly hundred thousand enthusiastic birders of all ages and occupations joined this massive bird counting exercise last year.

It is very easy to participate in the GBBC. You need to follow few simple steps:

Create an account on http://gbbc.birdcount.org/, count birds for at least fifteen minutes at as many locations, and on as many days (from 12^th to 15^th February) as you like, and submit your observations on the GBBC website. In case you do not recognize certain birds, make note of their features such as size, colour of plumage, and call. The bird guide on the GBBC website would help you identify the species on the basis of your observations. Moreover, if you are a photography enthusiast, you could take part in the Photo Contest and possibly win exciting prizes.

Seated in the midst of concretized spaces and agricultural land, IIT Kanpur serves as a sanctuary for a wide variety of birds (A list could be found here: http://www.cse.iitk.ac.in/users/amit/birds/). You could spot interesting backyard birds in your own hostel garden, the academic area, and the OAT, especially during early morning hours. And if you’re adventurous enough, you could always head to Bithoor or the Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary on the Lucknow road.

Happy Birding!

Written by Navya Gupta, Core Group Member of Vox Populi. Enthusiasts of GBBC can reach her at navyag@iitk.ac.in.