GLOBAL BIG DAY

Collared Aracari - A Central American Toucan in Belize

The Intro

​Have you ever been a part of a worldwide event that made a difference to a cause you believe in? This is your chance! The Global Big Day will allow you to make a difference by sharing your backyard birds while at the same time someone is doing the exact same thing in Australia and someone else in Sweden.   Let me break the Big Day down for you so you can see how much fun and important it is being part of a worldwide effort to learn more about birds. 

The Day

​May 5, 2018  ……….. All day ………….24 hours or 10 minutes………...  You get the picture.  Mark it on your calendar.

The Reason

Barn Swallow

Have you ever wondered where birds go in the winter? Do you wonder where they are going when they stop at your feeder for a day and disappear the next. You are not the only one.  There are thousands of researchers that are trying to figure out if birds are doing well or are they having a rough time. Are the birds that you see in the winter going to come back next year, or are they only there for the free food visiting another town a 1000 miles away next year? Which birds migrate, and which birds are starting to stay for the winter? These and hundreds of other questions can be answered when you share your information about the birds that you see while also bringing awareness to birding and conservation. One of the greatest examples of how this information can be used is by having a look at this active map of migrating barn swallows. Without the sightings of thousands of people, interactive looks into the lives of birds would never be this precise or nearly as cool.  You may just add a new bird to your life list in the process. 

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The Steps

Step one - Watch birds.      Step two – Record birds
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That’s it. Really. That is all you must do. Keep track of the birds that you saw during the day and then click the button beside the birds name. You enter the information on your phone while you are standing there, or later when you get back to your computer. You do need a free account on eBird to enter the information, but that is an easy process you can find here. If you need help, email me here. eBird has made the process so easy, that you can put the list in while you are walking around your local park with a few quick taps.
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The Who

​eBird is the dedicated and amazing online group who hosts the event yearly and tally the results for the Global Big Day. They were, in fact, the group that started event. For some 20 years there has been a team of elite birders, named team sapsucker, that have been chasing the dragon’s tail every year looking for the greatest number of bird species in one day. They were so successful they started thinking big and inviting others to join the competition. In 2015 they invited the world. They are looking to break the record for the number of birds seen in one day and want you to help. Be an extension of Team Sapsucker and help shatter last years record. Is your area going to be the one that sends in the most lists this year?
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The Fun

It is one thing to be helping our favorite feathered friends, but I really enjoy keeping a list of the birds that I have seen during my years looking through binoculars. This little exercise is the perfect way to get young and the young at heart to start that life list .  I have a link here so you can see my life list and how it works. I particularly like going back and seeing what bird started my list or that the first bird that made my list in California. (Bonus points for those can figure out which birds those are and comment below.) eBird has made the whole thing so easy and fun to be able to see your birds in all sorts of configurations including Country, State/Province or even down to county. For those of you who might be a little competitive, you can also check out the top 100 lists for all these areas and see where you rank in the world of listing birds. Be careful, it gets addictive. 

The Conversation

​One thing that come to light during a review of the information is how a particular species of bird may be doing. All of this happens as soon as the posting happens. Where the bird may have been seen in the thousands, it may only be an occasional visitor now. I am guessing if we had a Global big day back when the passenger pigeon was still flying around, we wouldn’t be looking at the last one in a museum trophy case. On the other hand, one of North America’s rarest birds has been tracked with remarkable success on the amazingly long journey from the coast of Texas to the northern border of Alberta’s boreal peat bogs. This information gives the conservation folks real time information to make decisions on which areas to protect.  These decisions can be done with the most up to date info possible making the process a tactical strike rather than a shot gun effect.  
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Passenger Pigeon

The Results

​One of the thing that I love is the fact that the results are put into an interactive form allowing countries their bragging rights. The tropical countries have an unfair advantage of course, but we northerners always put up a good fight. Have a look at the results from 2017 to see how your area fared. There will also be real time viewing of the entries as they come in as well with maps showing where the latest list have been entered and tallies of number of species and lists. 
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The Finish

​It is truly a momentous day for anyone interested in the beauty and mystery of birds. Sharing information collected by the world’s citizen scientists in the period of 24 hours is a true feat. Having seen over 60% of all of the world’s species in one day is quite another. Take some time on May 5th and help bring awareness to birding and conservation locally and globally. The birds will thank you. Don’t forget to share this post by clicking the icons below and get everyone you know to join the team. 

Western Gull at Sunset