The 2015 Great Backyard Bird Count is now in the history books. When I asked at our April meeting how many people participated in the count, almost all present raised their hands – I was impressed.

This year the GBBC went international and the numbers were staggering: over 100 countries participated, submitting 147,000 checklists with over 5,000 species being sighted. Closer to home, in Illinois, 135 species were reported on 2,662 checklists. Kane County had 225 checklists submitted with 69 species.

Some specifics from Kane County:

Top 5 locations:

1. Jon Duerr Forest Preserve

2. Carpentersville Dam

3. Fox River – West Dundee

4. Quarry Park – Batavia

5. Big Rock Forest Preserve

Top Listers: Marion Miller, Chris Madsen, John Heneghan

Mark your calendar for the 2016 GBBC on January 12 – 15. If you want to get more serious about counting birds, check out Project Feeder Watch from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

_Bob Andrini