Worldwide bird survey from the backyard

Coordinated by Cornell University, the event drew participants from over 100 countries. “Anyone anywhere in the world could count birds for at least 15 minutes for a day or two and enter their sightings at www.ebird.org. The information gathered by tens of thousands of volunteers would help track the health of bird populations at a scale that would not otherwise be possible,” said a representative with Cornell University.

During last year’s GBBC more than 3.45 crore birds and 3,610 species were recorded—nearly one-third of the world’s total bird species were documented in just four days. In India, 202 participants counted more than 80,000 birds and over 500 bird species from all over the country, including rare species like the Great Indian Bustard and the Lesser Adjutant Stork.

“Many ask us why? The answer is simple, it’s fun. More seriously, these annual snapshots of bird populations helped in answering a variety of important questions, including how birds were affected by habitat changes, weather and whether the population and distribution are changing,” said P Jegannath, a representative of Bird Count India – Andhra Pradesh “It was a worldwide bird survey and was happening in Indian for the second year. However, last year there was a poor participation from Andhra Pradesh,” Jegannath laments.

“Go birding for at least 15 minutes, listing all the species you would see, with rough count of each. It doesn't matter if you couldn’t identify every single species -- what you could identify was good enough!” adds Jegannath.