Friday, February 6, 2009

Can You Count Birds?


Female House Finch in Mesquite Tree in my Backyard 2-6-09

All right already. I know I should stop, but I can't. I was already planning on participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count next weekend, but now I found out that the Northwest Nature Nut is challenging other birders and bloggers and nature lovers in general to count the species of birds seen in and from their own yards during the month of February. The only restriction is that the bird has to be seen, not heard, and it has to be seen from your own yard. It can be flying over or in your neighbor's yard, but you must be able to see it from your own yard. Many other birders have already signed up. Read more about it here.

So, join in, have fun, and if you want your count to count, consider eBirding and/or joining the GBBC next weekend where you can enter your counts into the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's data base and watch the dots grow as counts are entered from across the United States.

Try eBirding here.

If you are a teacher or homeschool your kids they even have extra info to help get you students involved. It makes a great science project and it's a wonderful way to get kids involved with birding and nature.



Male House Finch 2-6-09 Kathiesbirds' backyard.

11 comments:

Kim said...

I am doing both!! Today was a great day at my yard and I will be recording it.

Can't wait for the Backyard Bird Count either. I love doing all of this counting because it makes February more bearable!

Kathie Brown said...

KAllen, I know it does. I counted bird incessently when I lived in Maine. I have notebooks full of counts. It is how I survived the winter!

Susan Gets Native said...

I can count!
Watch....1................um, 2...............3................4......

Kathie Brown said...

Susan, You always make me laugh!(Wise *ss!)

Femin Susan said...

Hi………
Nice birds......Very cool your blog!
Great! Keep posting…….
Good week………

Kathie Brown said...

Femin susan, thanks for stopping by!

Stacey Olson said...

Great post. .it is important for people to give their input... thanks for sharing

Heather said...

Hi Kathie. I'm getting geared up for the GBBC. This will be my second time to participate. Between that, Project Feederwatch and NWNN's Feb. bird count, I'm one counting fool!

SandyCarlson said...

Kathie,
I will try! Right now it seems only the crows are hanging out around here even now. All the others have gone away.

Cheryl Ann said...

Are you having rain this morning? We are! I do feed birds in my yard. I'll have to do a count someday! There are a lot of birds up at our Living Desert Reserve, even cactus wrens!

Kathie Brown said...

Stacy, nice to see you again!

Heather, glad to hear it. And to think I don't like math! What has gotten into me?

Sandy, the fun of the GBBC is is that you can count birds for only 15 minutes right in your own yard, or, you can go out and about. I do both. You choose the places and the level of commitment. You can count on all days, or just one day. It's all up to you! They need to know where the birds AREN'T as much as they need to know where they are!

Cherly Ann, no rain yet but cooler temps and some clouds! Give counting a try. You may like it. eBird and the GBBC have simple instructions on their web pages if you are interested.