Why should we count our backyard birds?
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By Quinta Mazatlán World Birding Center
Every year, thousands of people around the world watch and enjoy the birds that live around us. Because birdwatching is such a popular pastime, different citizen science projects have sprung up to add scientific value to the hobby. One such project is eBird, started by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in 2002, which has grown to be a favorite for birdwatchers. By submitting checklists, which can include photos and sounds of birds, people can keep track of what birds they’ve seen in a convenient online format. Those checklists are also used by scientists to help better understand bird migration, distribution, and population trends.