Friday, February 12th - Monday, February 15th
The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), originally launched in 1998, is now a worldwide community science initiative in which thousands of people participate each year. It has become the world’s largest biodiversity related community science project. It is a collaborative venture sponsored by Birds Canada, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and the National Audubon Society. You can learn more about the GBBC at birdcount.org
Laurel Hill Cemetery and West Laurel Hill Cemetery have supported the participation of birders in the Great Backyard Bird Count. In past years we established a friendly competition between the two locations. With expert leaders from the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club, a bird walk was scheduled at each location to see which group was able to tally the most birds. The results were submitted as part of the GBBC. The COVID-19 pandemic has precluded scheduling this competition this year. We offer an alternative for this 2021 Presidents Weekend and the Great Backyard Bird Count!
- Participate in the GBBC Laurel Hill & West Laurel Hill Challenge! Here is how to participate:
- Visit either or both cemetery locations to bird watch on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday over Presidents Weekend
- Come as often as you would like to bird during the hours that the cemetery is open to the public
- Keep a list of the birds you see on ebird (See ebird.com for the App if you do not already have it).
- Please observe all COVID-19 Guidelines – wear a mask and keep social distanced if you meet a friend.
- Observe all of the Cemetery rules
After Presidents Weekend, all lists submitted to ebird for Laurel Hill and for West Laurel Hill will be reviewed and the total species tally for each site will be calculated. We will report the results and see which site tallied the most species, had the most ebird reports submitted, and attracted the most birders. We will also report the “top birders” who submitted reports at each site over Presidents Weekend.
We have partnered once again with BirdPhilly, the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club, The Valley Forge Audubon Society, and the Wyncote Audubon Society to promote the Laurel Hill Challenge and encourage their members to participate. Note that the Laurel Hill Cemetery is in the Wyncote Audubon Society’s Chapter Territory and West Laurel Hill Cemetery is in the Valley Forge Audubon Society’s Chapter Territory.
Please register with the folks at Laurel Hill & West Laurel Hill ([email protected]) if you would like to receive a digital report of the results.
WEST LAUREL HILL CEMETERY & FUNERAL HOME, 225 Belmont Avenue Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004, www.westlaurelhill.com
LAUREL HILL CEMETERY, 3822 Ridge Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19132 www.thelaurelhillcemetery.org
