The GBBO Aquatic Bird Count is a new program designed to increase monitoring efforts of Nevada's aquatic bird species.

In order to track aquatic bird populations, we encourage Nevada's birders enter their bird sighting records into our online entry form. This will allow us to have a repository of bird sighting information that we and our partners can use for our monitoring efforts and the public can enjoy as a way of keeping birding records..

To participate, follow these easy steps:

1) Go to the Forms/Maps page and find the map of the lake/water body that you are planning to bird.

2) Many of the larger water bodies are divided into sections as you will see on the map. For example, Walker Lake is subdivided into 6 sections (N,S,E,W,NE,NW). Choose which area/s you think that you will be visiting to bird. We are trying to get complete surveys of each area that you visit so, if possible, try to completely cover one section instead of partially covering multiple sections.

3) Download and print a Tally Sheet for each section that you plan to bird. You can use this sheet to record sightings and numbers seen. You can also use your own birding notes if you provide the same information (as most birders routinely do).

4) After the count, go to the Data Entry webpage. Enter the information at the top of the sheet including your site and section. If you did not do a predesignated section from the map, use the "casual" entry for your site. However, try to use the predefined map sections whenever possible. Then, just enter the number of birds seen during your birding visit. If you ran across a species that isn't on the tally sheet, you can use the custom entry slots on the lower right of the form to choose from a huge list of aquatic bird species. When finished, click the "enter information" button.

5) Repeat step #4 for each site and section that you completed. This will upload your data to our database. To query the database, use the Query Database page where you can view your records and those of everybody else. This page is pretty basic right now but will be expanded and improved soon.