An annual continent-wide bird watching event for the public will occur during the upcoming President’s Day weekend. Many national parks have participated in the past and are registered again this year.

People across the North American continent will be counting birds and reporting them over the Internet as part of the 11th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count. Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society organize the yearly event. It is one of the world’s largest volunteer efforts of its kind.

During the GBBC, the public is encouraged to count birds in America’s Great Backyard — public lands. In addition to national parks, these lands include, wildlife refuges national forests.
In 2007, GBBC participants made history, breaking records for the number of birds they reported and the number of checklists they submitted. Participants sent in more than 80,000 checklists tallying more than 11 million birds of 613 species. Last year, as a result of these counts, scientists discovered many bird species had already started their spring migrations in February.This is much earlier than in decades past. Participant counts help build a long-term record of where people are finding birds and how many birds there are.