It’s that time of year again! The 22nd Annual Great Backyard Bird Count is this weekend, Friday, February 15, through Monday, February 18, 2019.
This is a wonderful citizen science project that helps researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society learn more about how birds are doing, and how to protect them and the environment we share.
It can be as simple as looking out your window for as little as 15 min, or go out to your favorite birding spot and report on what you see. Every report is important to create a worldwide snapshot of where all the birds are at one moment. Scientists use this information to investigate how weather and climate change influence bird populations, why some birds like winter finches appear in large numbers during some years but not others, how the timing of birds’ migrations compare with past years, how are bird diseases, such as West Nile virus, affecting birds in different regions and have there been changes in bird diversity in cities versus suburban, rural, and natural areas?
Once you’ve counted your birds, you can log your sightings online at birdcount.org. This morning I counted 2 red-breasted nuthatches, 1 downy woodpecker, 4 house finches, 6 house sparrows and 1 female cardinal. I’ll report again tomorrow morning and hopefully one of my unusual visitors like the Red-bellied Woodpecker or Coopers Hawk decides to visit.
Need help identifying what you see? Check out these mobile apps, these online resources, or order my favorite bird book for beginner to intermediate birders, Birds of North America: A Guide to Field Identification.
This is a male cardinal from a few days ago. He was just frozen there at the feeder with the striped sunflowers in his beak. Not sure what he was doing, but he sat like this probably for a minute or so.
In the past, I generally didn’t have red-breasted nuthatches this time of year. They’d come through on migration for a couple of weeks and then move on elsewhere. This is exactly the type of data they are looking for.
Interested in what everyone else is seeing? On the GBBC website you can explore real-time maps and charts that show what others are reporting. Be sure to check out the Explore a Region tool to see what everyone else is seeing in your area. Want to have your own checklist specific to your area? Check this tool out.
Want to help count birds all year round? You can keep counting throughout the year with eBird, which uses the same system as the Great Backyard Bird Count to collect, store, and display data any time, all the time. I love this tool to see what birds others are seeing (and where) when I’m out and about.
I did my part 😊
You can get your own certificate, just follow this link.
Happy Birding! Hope you see something interesting, but even if you don’t, know you’ve made a difference for science.
I’m planning to do my count tomorrow!