The Great Backyard Bird Count

I have participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count for a few years now. This year, it takes place from February 17 - 20. Anybody from beginner to bird expert can become a citizen scientist. Visit www.birdcount.org to explore past results, brush up on tricky bird IDs, or find out about local events. You can count birds for any length of time, as long as you count them at least 15 minutes a day. Once the count begins, you can submit your results online and watch the real-time uploads.
Get your binoculars and field guides ready and count birds! 

The Great Backyard Bird Count

For the second year in a row I am an ambassador for the Great Backyard Bird Count, which takes place from February 18-21, 2011. In connection with this event I will give a presentation at the Sewickley Library on February 16 from 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Participating in this free event is easy, but it helps if you can identify the usual backyard suspects. A pair of binoculars also comes in handy. You may watch birds in your backyard, a park, or a school yard - it doesn't matter. Count the highest number of birds you see at any given time and log down the location of the sighting. You may report your findings online. That's it! Have fun.

The Great Backyard Bird Count - Days 2 & 3

Yesterday morning things were eerily quiet around our feeders. A couple of cardinals sat motionless in a pear tree and a squirrel practically hugged another tree. No one was at the feeders. That could only mean one thing: A predator was out there. And then I saw a Cooper's hawk landing on one of our trees, the squirrel not too far above him! After a few moments it flew off again. It did not take long for the birds to return to our feeder.
This morning I spotted 17 cardinals in our backyard. I stopped counting them after that, because what was the point? I didn't even know we had that many around. A less pleasant surprise was counting 18 starlings. Where do they all come from all of a sudden? I am pleased, though, to see a flicker returning to our feeder regularly. And after seeing a turkey at our feeder twice this week it isn't showing up at all to be counted.

Great Backyard Bird Count - Day 1

The Great Backyard Bird Count is on. Here is a list of the birds I observed today:

10 Northern cardinals
5 Starlings
1 Northern flicker
1 Black-capped chickadee
1 Tufted titmouse
1 Carolina wren
1 Downy woodpecker
1 Red-bellied woodpecker
1 Hairy woodpecker
1 Blue jay
2 Dark-eyed juncos
2 House sparrows
1 White-throated sparrow
2 Fox sparrows
1 White-breasted nuthatch
2 Mourning doves

This list is by no means complete. While driving through our plan I saw dozens of birds (possibly mourning doves) on a powerline. I couldn't count them, though, because I was driving. I am also hearing quite a bit of bird chatter outdoors today despite the weather.

The Great Backyard Bird Count

The Great Backyard Bird Count is now just one week away. It will take place from February 12-15, 2010. Where, you ask? Wherever you feel like watching birds. That could be at your feeder, your school, a local park or a wildlife refuge. As long as you write down the times you watched the birds and tally your count it doesn't matter where you view them.
Sometimes the best place is right at home. This afternoon I looked out the window and saw a female turkey under our bird feeder. Too bad it was a week early for the count...
In order to whet your appetite for the bird count I am enclosing a list of all the bird species we have seen in and around our yard over the years:
• American Goldfinch
• American Robin
• Baltimore Oriole
• Black-capped Chickadee
• Blue Jay
• Brown-headed Cowbird
• Carolina Wren
• Chipping Sparrow
• Common Grackle
• Cooper's Hawk
• Crow
• Dark-eyed Junco
• Downy Woodpecker
• European Starling
• Eastern Towhee
• Great-horned Owl (heard only)
• Hairy Woodpecker
• House Finch
• House Sparrow
• Mourning Dove
• Northern Cardinal
• Northern Flicker
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Rose-breasted Grosbeak
• Ruby-throated Hummingbird
• Song Sparrow
• Tufted Titmouse
• Turkey
• Turkey Vulture
• White-breasted Nuthatch
• White-crowned Sparrow
• White-throated Sparrow

The Great Backyard Bird Count

I'm gearing up for the Great Backyard Bird Count, which takes place on February 12-15, 2010. I am an ambassador this year and will give a presentation about the GBBC at the Moon Township library on February 6.
If you would like to participate please visit www.birdcount.org to learn more about it, how to count the birds, and how to submit checklists. It is important that you submit the highest number of birds seen at any given time; e.g. if you see seven cardinals at a time and an hour later you see five, put seven in your checklist, not 12. It is quite possible that you are counting the same birds twice.
Most importantly, have fun! The GBBC is a great way to get acquainted with birds. Perhaps you will find a new interest. I did.