During the Great Backyard Birding Count, a colorful male Painted Bunting was recorded and photographed Saturday by Harlan Stewart in his yard in Jefferson, Texas. A White-cheeked Barbet was photographed during the GBBC Monday in India by Vikram. A roosting rufous morph Eastern Screech Owl was found, reported, and photographed Friday by Mark Holle in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The fun and field work is finished, but we’re waiting for some of the paperwork to be completed to provide the final results on the President’s Day weekend birding event, the Great Backyard Birding Count (GBBC). While some birders are still reporting their bird counts and downloading photographs, the almost completed GBBC statistics are evident as we go to press late Tuesday. American and Canadian birders led the way, but birders in more than 200 nations participated in the annual February event, adding to our understanding of winter ranges of the world’s birds.

As we went to press late Tuesday, the total number of different bird species reported during the GBBC was 7,768 – Wow! While tropical birders always find more species of birds, birders in the United States did a great job of collectively finding almost all the birds likely to be found in February across the continental United States, plus others in Hawaii, reporting 666 species as we went to press. That ranked the United States 8th in total species reported. To review the state by state reports, photographs, and other information, see United States - Great Backyard Bird Count (ebird.org) and be sure to scroll down the page to see the variety of information provided.

Worldwide, the Andes to Amazon nations of South America lead the way among species reported, with Columbia, Ecuador, Brazil, and Peru among the Top 5 along with India. Mexico and Costa Rica are next with the United States, Panama, and Argentina rounding out the Top 10, although birders in more than 200 countries participated in this year’s GBBC! You can review how universal birding has become across the nations of the world at Top subregions - World - Great Backyard Bird Count (ebird.org) Likewise, scroll down to view a variety of categories. Thanks to everyone who helped make the GBBC such a great success!