Celebrating Global Big Day–One Species at a Time!
All About Global Big Day 2022.
We are now in countdown mode for Global Big Day 2022 this Saturday! I am a team member of Team Flying Pintails, headed by BirdsCaribbean Executive Director Lisa Sorenson. I invite you to join me and count birds no matter where you are in the world! We shall be defending our first-place team title from 2020 and 2021, and the team competition appears to be fierce!
Global Big Day is an annual event, organized by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, in which birders, often in teams, travel around an area trying to observe as many bird species as they can in a 24-hour period of time.
Last year, birdwatchers from nearly 200 countries set new world records for birding on a single day. It’s a fun day, and I plan to be out birding all day here on Bonaire!
Use eBird and Merlin ID to help track your birds.
Each team member should plan to carry out one or more bird counts during Global Big Day 2022 on May 14th. For each count, you should record the start and end time of your count, your location, all the species seen, and how many of each species seen (doing your best to estimate if it is impossible to count each bird). Counts are most easily and efficiently done using the eBird Mobile app (available for both iPhone and Android). But checklists can also be done with paper and pencil and then entered into eBird later in the day (or eBird Caribbean if you are based in the Caribbean).
Remember that each team member can conduct as many counts as they wish during the day and you may do counts from different locations. These can be stationary counts (staying in one location, e.g. in your backyard) or traveling counts (e.g., walking a trail or around your neighborhood). It is recommended that counts last at least 10 minutes and that a different checklist is started at each different location.
About Team Flying Pintails.
Lisa would love to have you join the Team Flying Pintails. She has put together an elite team to (hopefully) beat the other teams in this friendly, yet competitive, fun competition for Global Big Day. The goal of Team Flying Pintails is to raise $3,000 to continue the great work of BirdsCaribbean. As of now, Team Flying Pintails is nearly 2/3 of the way there and we can use your help to meet our goal.
There are two options to help on Global Big Day 2022:
Join me on the team and go out and count birds on Saturday.
To join, simply go to https://givebutter.com/BCGBD2022/flying-pintails and join up. You can help with fundraising or without fundraising, that is up to you. We are looking for a global team this year, so we can maintain our title!
Make a donation via the Team Flying Pintails.
Or, if your circumstances do not allow you to join in on the competitive fun, then please do what you can to help out the Caribbean’s birds by making a donation. No amount is too small! You may donate here: https://givebutter.com/BCGBD2022/flying-pintails/susandavis
See you out and about on Saturday! Have a great day birding, and enjoy the experience!
About the author:
Susan has been living on Bonaire for over 30 years. She is a certified bird guide, as well as a topside and underwater photographer. She is a 2016 graduate of the Caribbean Birding Trail Interpretive Guide Course conducted by BirdsCaribbean.
Reach out to Susan
Contact Susan via email, Facebook Messenger, give Susan a call, or simply use the online form below.
If you have any questions in regard to your birding tour on Bonaire, feel free to contact Susan to get answers. She is always happy to elaborate on routes or best times for a tour based upon your own personal preferences. Tours can be tailored to your own interests, whether that be birds, photography, or both!
It is also recommended that you do some homework about Bonaire's birds before you visit. By knowing a little bit about the birds which might be encountered on tour, your enjoyment will be heightened! Be sure to check out these resources for Bonaire Birding. Reading the Bonaire Bird Blog will also accustom you to the birds that habitually are encountered on Bonaire.
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