Author: Steve

7,920 species worldwide, out of about 10,000.  Pretty good count!

2024 Final Results – Great Backyard Bird Count

Over half a million participants.

From: Cornell Lab of Ornithology <gbbc@birds.cornell.edu>
Sent: Saturday, March 16, 2024 8:05 AM
To: Steve Taylor <spt@thetaylorcompany.net>
Subject: Final Results from the 2024 Great Backyard Bird Count

Explore another year of incredible results!

Dear Steve,  Final numbers for the 2024 Great Backyard Bird Count are in! What a phenomenal year with more species of birds reported than ever before. GBBC 2024 in a Snapshot:7,920 species of birds identified210 countries or subregions384,416 eBird checklists313,874 Merlin Bird IDs (step-by-step, sound, or photo)164,740 photos, videos, and sounds added to Macaulay Library642,003 estimated global participants385 reported community eventsFor a more in-depth analysis, click on the Northern Saw-whet Owl  below to review the final report. Northern Saw-whet Owl by Timothy-Piranian / Macaulay Library.In case you missed our Thank You Video, we want to extend our deepest gratitude to all of you for another incredible event!  Mark your calendars! Next year’s GBBC is February 14–17, 2025. – All of us at the Cornell Lab, Audubon, and Birds CanadaMany thanks to GBBC founding sponsor Wild Birds Unlimited. They’re ready to help you with all your backyard bird needs via their stores and podcast. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a membership institution dedicated to interpreting and conserving the earth’s biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds. You received this email because you are subscribed to Cornell Lab News from Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850Unsubscribe Manage preferences

The Texas Firebush.

Making a comeback.

A wading bird with an upturned bill.

Striking coloring.

They lift off together in a flock.

This explanation from our grandkid Taylor in England:

Having worked at a hotel, yes, we did have a doodad to open those top locks. Well, us lowly desk agents didn’t have access to it, only the top manager had one. If they were on site and there was an emergency, they could flip open the locks. If the fire department beat the general manager to the hotel, they’d kick down the door, but the hotel doesn’t want to pay to replace doors and door jambs every time. There’s a surprising number of medical emergencies at hotels. And because different hotel brands have different configurations for those top/chain locks, the fire department isn’t going to keep copies of all the different tools they might need for all the hotels in the area. 

Oh, and yeah, the duty managers and maintenance did also have key cards that could override the deadbolt. Those cards were programmed with the name of the person permitted to carry them. The general manager had a scanner that could communicate with the door lock and print a report of all the keys used to open the door. I think it saved the last 20 uses? So if there was a dispute over who went in a room (also happened more often than one might expect) the general manager could print a report and show which keys had been used recently. Cool stuff. 

So, the locking door handle, the deadbolt, and the extra lock that only works from the inside are only protection from people willing to play by the rules.  If someone with bad intent wants to google the solution for how to get past all these security features, they can.  Aren’t we glad we asked!