I'm going to go ahead and argue that the Great Backyard Bird Count is where modern birding came from. You can disagree if you want, but listen to this episode first! Our use of apps like eBird and Merlin, the incredible amount of data collected by regular folks in their spare time, and the knowledge we've gained as a result of those efforts....that's all common place now, but it wasn't back when the Great Backyard Bird Count started. Three incredible guests join The Warblers Podcast to help us understand how this citizen science effort has grown overtime and changed the face of modern birding. Spoilers...you don't need a backyard to get involved. Join the Great Backyard Bird Count. The Warblers is brought to you by Birds Canada a non-profit, charitable organization. Please make a donation today to support the podcast and bird conservation work in Canada.  Kerrie Wilcox manages the Great Backyard Bird Count in Canada and Project FeederWatch, a program that turns people’s bird feeding hobby into research for conservation.  She loves feeling the enthusiasm and commitment of the volunteers and seeing how much we've learned from their contributions. Becca Rodomsky-Bish is the project leader for the Great Backyard Bird Count with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Becca also works as the project leader for Nest Quest Go!, a crowd-sourced project where citizen scientists help transcribe historic nest records. Kathy Dale is the Director of Science Technology and Community Science Team Lead at the National Audubon Society. She leads the delivery of programs such as the Great Backyard Bird Count and the Christmas Bird Count. Andrea Gress studied Renewable Resource Management at the University of Saskatchewan. She pivoted towards birds, after an internship in South Africa. Upon returning, she worked with Piping Plovers in Saskatchewan and now coordinates the Ontario Piping Plover Conservation Program for Birds Canada. Follow her work at @ontarioplovers