• After 15 years of success in North America, the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) will open up to the entire world for the first time in 2013. Anyone, from anywhere on earth, can participate by visiting www.birdcount.org and reporting the kinds and numbers of birds they see during the 16th annual count, February 15­­-18, 2013.
"I am a Bird Ambassador for Cornell University's Great Backyard Bird Count, said Barb Pollock of Clark. "We are encouraging more South Dakotan's to participate in this world wide event.  The weekend of February 15-18^, 2013 is an exciting time for Birdwatchers, as we take a few minutes each day to observe the birds around us.  Counting each species and recording our finding through Cornell's internet site.  It's as easy, just find the species you have observed and enter how many were observed.   The findings are posted at the GBBC several weeks after the final day of the count; it's exciting to see what has changed or if a new trend has taken hold in the world of Birds.  I have been participating the GBBC Spring bird count for 10 years and am always excited to go back to the site a few weeks after the count."
• A joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, with partner Bird Studies Canada, the four-day count typically receives sightings from tens of thousands of people reporting more than 600 bird species in the United States and Canada alone.
• "This year's count will give us a whole new perspective as sightings pour in from around the globe in real time," said Marshall Iliff at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "Millions of people encounter birds every day all over the world. Imagine what scientists will learn if each one of us shares observations from our own area!"