The GBBC is sponsored by Cornell University, the Audubon Society, and Bird Studies of Canada to engage you to become citizen scientists and collect data so scientists can investigate diseases such as West Nile Virus and Bird Flu, and note the effects of water & air pollution on habitat, migration and movement of our birds. This year scientists will be investigating the effects of anthropause* on bird populations as well.

There are two aspects to this count:

1. Count birds in your backyard, or wherever you spot a bird, and submit your observations online for each of the four days of the count. See https://www.birdcount.org/participate/ for information about apps you can use to ID birds, and instructions for submitting your observations to the GBBC.

You will be asked to record the species and number of birds in each species. Example: 5 Dark-eyed Juncos. 2 Red Cardinals. Total species = 2. Number of birds = 7.


2. IN ADDITION to submitting your information online, submit it here to enter the contest. The rules are as follows:

Contest runs Feb.12 thru 15, 2021. You may count one day or all four.
All children ages 3 and up are invited to engage as citizen scientists and collect data for scientists.
You do not need to be a resident of Massachusetts to participate.

Winners will be determined by the largest amount of SPECIES recorded. Example: 7 House Sparrows + 2 Red Cardinals + 20 Mallard Ducks + 17 European Starlings + 10 Dark-eyed Juncos + 5 Blue Jays = 6 total species.  

There will be three divisions for winners. The prize for largest list of species submitted is a bird feeder.
• Division: Ages 3 to 5
• Division: Ages 6-12
• Division: Ages 12-up


* What is "anthropause"? https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-have-name-nature-time-covid-19-anthropause-180975224/