Deborah Modde sits inside her Gurnee home on one of the coldest days of the year and counts the birds: five mourning doves, two black-capped chickadees, three white-breasted nuthatches, four dark-eyed juncos, one northern cardinal, six American goldfinches and seven house sparrows.
Modde has been recording the birds in the middle of February for the Great Backyard Bird Count for several years. Counters enter data online, and scientists use that information to track the movement and populations of certain species.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology in New York manages the worldwide four-day snapshot, which recently expanded so people can report any of the world’s 10,000 bird species during that period, said Miyoko Chu, communications director for Cornell.
The count, which began 19 years ago, started Friday and continues through Monday.
“I think it’s fascinating,” Modde said. “It’s not for the competition, but I am rather proud of the (birds) who come and feed here.”
All the birds Modde has counted so far are common in the winter in northern Illinois.
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“It shows the rise and fall of various species in the area — are we seeing more? Why? Are the migratory patterns different,” she asked.
Modde said she participates in the count because she wants to contribute to science, and noted she can do so from the warmth of her home.
“It’s blooming cold out there,” Modde said. “I have a clear view of the feeders from my house and I don’t have to go out and do anything, just sit and watch.”
Citizen science
The Great Backyard Bird Count “is a global citizen science effort, and people from anywhere in the world can watch birds for at least 15 minutes and tell us what they see — and then we create a picture of what birds are being reported, where and how many,” Chu said.
The birds that have been counted are plotted on a map, which can be found at gbbc.birdcount.org.
“The count helps us keep tabs on how birds are doing,” Chu said. “For example, as climate is warming, we are seeing birds in places where we didn’t during colder years.”
Great Backyard Bird count data shows the tree swallow is being seen farther north, Chu said. That species nests in Illinois, but migrates to warmer climates, where its insect prey are available in the winter.
“If you don’t have a past record of where birds were or how many there were, as our planet changes, you wouldn’t be able to measure what the impact of those changes have been,” Chu said.
For other Cornell projects, bird watchers enter data all year, but the Great Backyard Bird Count is an excellent entry point for beginning birders to get involved, Chu said.
Irene Zaun, of Libertyville, recorded a northern flicker, which she learned is uncommon in Lake County in the winter.
“He’s just gorgeous. He comes every day. He was here twice yesterday. He was up on the suet feeder,” Zaun said. “He’s absolutely beautiful – he has unique markings, the black mustache in the front, speckles on its breast.”
Data accuracy
To ensure accuracy of the data, advanced bird-watchers like Matthew Cvetas, of Evanston, volunteer to review the information people like Zaun and Modde enter.
“Our job is to vet those records and ensure the accuracy because the data get used by scientists and land managers for conservation purposes,” said Cvetas, president of the Illinois Ornithological Society.
He suggests those entering data in the Great Backyard Bird Count use field guides and the Internet for identification tips. These include examples like the downy woodpecker and hairy woodpecker, which look almost identical except the hairy woodpecker is a larger bird with a noticeably larger bill, he said.
Other similar birds found in Lake County includes house finches and purple finches, Cvetas said. House finches are much more common in Lake County in winter than purple finches.
Cooper’s hawks have become more common in backyards with feeders because they prey on birds, Cvetas said. Sharp-shinned hawks look very similar, but are much rarer.
Counters can leave notes and photos on the website to help Cvetas determine accuracy.
Kim Ritschel, of North Barrington, submitted a photo on the web site of two pine siskins she documented during the backyard bird count. The photo showed the goldfinch-sized bird, with streaks and some yellow in its wings. The northerly species is a fairly common winter visitor to northern Illinois in some years, and feeds on thistle seed.
“It’s eternally fascinating to watch the goings on of birds at the feeders,” said Ritschel, who has been participating in another Cornell program, Project Feeder Watch, which runs November through March.
The project has helped her identify birds she didn’t know came to her feeders, including the pine siskins, which now can be counted for the Great Backyard Bird Count. Ritschel has also seen American tree sparrows; house sparrows; an American robin and lots of European starlings, a non-native species that steals habitat from native birds.
The rare ones
One of Lake County’s most experienced birders, Richard Biss, also participates in the Great Backyard Bird Count. Biss, who lives in Lake Villa next to a wetland, is outside every day when he’s not working, looking to see what birds are nearby, his wife, Mary Biss, said.
With the temperature well below freezing on Saturday, Richard Biss said he decided to stay indoors to count birds.
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“Right now, I’m at my desk looking down at five siskins and a goldfinch at the feeder,” he said. “And here’s a cowbird.”
Recently, he has seen two brown creepers in his yard, which are uncommon in winter, a bald eagle and 75 common redpolls, which only come to northern Illinois in high numbers some winters from their boreal forest homes.
But to get included on the Great Backyard Bird Count list, Biss will have to see those species sometime before the end of the day Monday.
“It would be nice if they showed up,” Biss said. “I always enjoy looking at birds, no matter where I am.”
Sheryl DeVore is a freelancer for the News-Sun