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  MARK YOUR CALENDARS! 

11th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count 
February 15 – 18, 2008 
Count for Fun, Count for the Future! 
  
Dear Great Backyard Bird Count participant, 
  
Your chance to take part in the eleventh Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) comes up in a few short weeks. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to have fun and help us find out where the birds are this winter. Read on for new and exciting features of this year’s event. 
  
What’s new this year? 
Check out the GBBC website (www.birdcount.org) for improved features, including: 
  • Ability to submit YouTube bird videos. The best videos will be posted on the GBBC website 
  • Expanded sparrow identification page 
  • New bird call identification game for kids 
  • New FAQ section and narrated GBBC overview

Spread the Word! We hope you'll spread the word this year by encouraging your friends to participate. You can forward this email to them or direct them to visit the website at www.birdcount.org. Remember:  the GBBC is fun, free, and helps birds! Win something cool: When you send in your checklist this year, you will automatically be entered in a prize drawing to win items like binoculars, bird feeders, and a variety of great books! 

Check out http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/press/news-stories/prize-list-for-2008 for a listing of prizes. 
  
Submit Photos to our Online Gallery and photo contest 
During the count, take digital photos of birds (and bird watchers!) and submit them to the GBBC website. All photos submitted will be entered in the photo contest, and some will be posted in an online gallery. Images will be accepted through March 1. 
  
Your counting counts: In 2007, GBBC participants made history, breaking records for the number of birds reported and number of checklists submitted. Participants sent in more than 80,000 checklists tallying over 11 million birds of 613 species. Last year, as a result of your counts, we discovered that many bird species had already started their spring migrations in February—earlier than in decades past. Your counts help us build a long-term record of where people are finding birds and how many birds there are. Although your bird counts need to take place from February 15-18, you can submit data as late as March 1, 2008. If you have any questions, please contact us at citizenscience@audubon.org or cornellbirds@cornell.edu. 
  
Remember, count for fun, count for the future!  We can’t wait to see what you discover this year.  
  
Sincerely, 
  
Janis Dickinson, Director of Citizen Science, Cornell Lab of Ornithology 
Rob Fergus, Senior Scientist, National Audubon Society 
Melissa Hopkins, Education Associate, National Audubon Society