Join the Great Backyard Bird Count for science!
Bird lovers from around the world will be identifying and counting birds from February 13 to 16 as part of a huge community science project.
A male northern cardinal takes wing.
what are you doing this weekend? Valentine’s Day and, in America, President’s Day are coming. And then the Lunar New Year begins. What is perhaps less well known is that the next few days are also really for the birds. i’m talking about great backyard bird countA project that bird lovers around the world can participate in to help scientists understand how birds fare in our changing world.
The count, organized by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the National Audubon Society and Birds Canada, is held for four days each February to take stock of the global bird population ahead of seasonal migration that begins in March. This year’s event will run from February 13 to February 16. During this time, participants are encouraged to observe birds at a location of their choice at least once for 15 minutes or more and to identify and count all birds they encounter in that interval. People can report their findings and share any photos eBird Or merlin bird id Apps, which are available for iOS and Android smartphones.
Participants of all skill levels are welcome. If you’re new to bird identification, the Merlin Bird ID app can help you figure out what type of bird you’re seeing or hearing. There are many excellent tools out there for bird identification and appreciation. (If you really want to know, check out Cornell Lab’s new Phylogeny ExplorerWhich allows you to go deeper into the entire family tree of birds.) Or you can go old school – forgo the gadgets and record your observations with pen and paper in the field, then enter your data into eBird later.
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By participating in the count, you will join a large community of like-minded bird fans. In 2024 eventAbout 642,000 people from 210 countries or subregions found 7,920 species. Bird lovers in India have reported sightings of several endangered species such as the Andaman Serpent Eagle. Bird lovers in Canada saw species that strayed outside their normal range, such as Lapland longspurs in Saskatchewan and grey-crowned rosy finches in the Northwest Territories. February in California saw rare sightings of Plumbius vireos and summer tanagers, which normally spend this time of year in the south and only visit California to breed in the spring. It may be that due to mild winters in the area in recent years, these birds may be staying in their breeding areas year-round or they may be migrating there earlier than before.
A particularly cold and snowy winter in the northeastern US, where I live, has recently limited my birdwatching efforts largely to peering out my kitchen window for birds. So I have a good idea who will be here this weekend. Dark-eyed juncos, tufted titmice, house sparrows, house finches, mourning doves and European starlings will dominate. There will also be some white-throated sparrows, black-capped chickadees, song sparrows, white-breasted nuthatches and my resident Carolina wren, as well as downy and red-bellied woodpeckers. Also arriving will be Northern Cardinals and Blue Jays, decked out in the bright colors I crave in dreary weather.
Moving past the kitchen window will reveal more species. The other day, when it got warm enough to go for a brisk walk around the neighborhood, I was pleased to see two eastern bluebirds, a hairy woodpecker and a brown woodpecker in the pine trees at the end of the road. Down the road a Northern Mockingbird was eating the dried berries of a bittersweet vine; A yellow-bellied Sapsucker was meowing from a distance, invisible.
I might go to a nearby body of water or beach to look for ducks—after all, here in the Northeast, it’s winter. odd duck timeAs the wonderful cartoonist Rosemary Mosco puts it. Or perhaps I’ll travel north in search of Evening Grosbeaks and Red Crossbills. Come to think of it, I haven’t visited the local sewage plant recently. I wonder if a warbler decided to remain in its relatively pleasant, if somewhat stinky, microclimate rather than make the long journey south to its usual wintering grounds.
At night I’ll keep an eye out for a pair of great horned owls calling out their signature “Who’s awake? Me too!” Singing for each other since last December. I never laid eyes on this particular couple, but it feels good to know they’re around. At this time of year they are getting ready to lay their eggs. With luck, in a few months, the screams of their hungry owls will pierce the night air.
What birds will you see in your corner of the world? I can’t wait to find out!
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