The 2007 GBBC Challenge

On Thursday, 2/15/2007, I submitted the following to the WV-Bird listserv:

"Calling All West Virginia Birders:

Tomorrow, February 16th, marks the start of the 10th annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), which will continue through Monday, February 19th.

Let's make the 10th GBBC a record-breaking one in West Virginia. If you have never done a GBBC, join the fun and do one this weekend! Count the birds in your backyard, local park, or other favorite birding area. If you?ve done a GBBC in the past, continue the habit and do at least one count this weekend. If you submitted one checklist last year, submit two this year. Better yet, submit a checklist for each day of the 4-day event.

I challenge the following localities to equal or exceed the record number of checklists submitted from each locality (in parentheses): Barboursville (11), Beckley (11), Bunker Hill (20), Charles Town (11), Charleston (45), Davis (15), Fairmont (10), Harper?s Ferry (25), Hedgesville (13), Huntington (30), Hurricane (16), Keyser (10), Martinsburg (23), Morgantown (29), Parkersburg (22), Saint Albans (18), Scott Depot (12), Shepherdstown (19), Spencer (10), Waverly (12), West Union (10), Wheeling (10).

To learn more about the GBBC, how to participate, and how to submit your results, go to the GBBC Web site at http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/.

To whet your appetite for the event, here are some statistics from the previous 9 years:

Highest Number of Species by Locality and Year

1998. Charleston 31
1999. Charleston 49
2000. Martinsburg 42
2001. Charles Town and Spencer 46 (tie)
2002. Spencer 46
2003. Huntington 42
2004. Huntington 51
2005. New Martinsville 45
2006. Huntington 57

Highest Number of Checklists Submitted by Locality and Year

1998. Charleston 20
1999. Charleston 36
2000. Martinsburg 23
2001. Charleston 24
2002. Charleston 31
2003. Charleston 31
2004. Charleston 46
2005. Charleston 37
2006. Morgantown 29

Number of Localities Submitting Checklists Statewide by Year

1998. 23
1999. 40
2000. 64
2001. 62
2002. 74
2003. 74
2004. 103
2005. 93
2006. 117

Number of Checklists Submitted Statewide by Year

1998. 69 (3.0/locality)
1999. 242 (6.0)
2000. 361 (5.6)
2001. 258 (4.2)
2002. 315 (4.3)
2003. 317 (4.3)
2004. 376 (3.6)
2005. 362 (3.9)
2006. 463 (4.1)

Number of Species Reported Statewide by Year

1998. 43
1999. 78
2000. 99
2001. 91
2002. 90
2003. 83
2004. 88
2005. 93
2006. 101

Number of Individuals Reported Statewide by Year

1998. 3,062
1999. 22,688
2000. 24,270
2001. 19,849
2002. 22,349
2003. 21,533
2004. 36,728
2005. 23,688
2006. 133,487

Good luck, and don't forget to submit your results!"