Coming Soon "The Great Backyard Bird Count"!!!

Only 16 days till the first of 4 day begins. So easy to do even if you don't have a lot of time you can count birds for just 15 minutes on one or more days! This is also a great project to have your children or grandchildren involved in. Another great thing is it is FREE; all you have to do is report the highest number of each species that you see. After all the lists have been counted you can go to the site to see the totals for your area, state and other parts of the country

http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/

From the site:Scientists use the counts, along with observations from other citizen-science projects, such as the Christmas Bird Count, Project FeederWatch, and eBird, to give us an immense picture of our winter birds. Each year that these data are collected makes them more meaningful and allows scientists to investigate far-reaching questions.

So this is a big help to our feathered friends, here is how to participate: http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/howto.html

Here is a page for kids: http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/kids

Since we have so many great photographers here at Daves you might also like to enter their Photo Contest, here are some of the winners for past years: http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/gallery Don't you just love that Orange-crowned Warbler?

So I hope everyone gets a chance to participate. Spread the word about the GBBC! We'll be sure to remind you again closer to the time before it starts. Have a great day!!

By the look of the lists for my area it looks as if some people traveled over to see the shore in Gloucester etc. No shore birds in our town. DH does the feeder list for Mass audubon. Fewer types of birds here the last couple of yr. Again I wonder where the gold finches are. further north or south?

Hi Iris, I haven't had many Goldfinch or Pine Siskin but I'm pretty sure it's because of hawks coming into the yard. Are you seeing Sharp-shinned or Coopers Hawks around? I sure miss my Goldfinch!

Not really. We are apt to get red tail hawks, but later in the season.

Thanks for the reminder on the GBBC!

Forgot that it was coming up so soon!

We love to take the counts each day~~fun to compare from year to year.

And we can get something useful out of our bird feeding obsession and contribute a little something to scietific data!

I hope everybody will participate! (-:

Eight more days to go!

Hope everyone can participate!

Look at the last pic of 2009 winners....
It appears she is pouring Coke in the feeder....
(I copied and blew it up and it looks like liquid in the bottle.)
Maybe something I don't know about... anyone do this?
Nice picture-- looks like 9 birds on and around her.

http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/09-winning-photos/09photowins

It's nyjer in a coke bottle. That first place winner is awesome!

Oh....
too much trouble to get seeds in a small opening like that drink bottle.
I use small bendable plastic containers from yogurt and sourcream.
Would of been a great advertisement --
Everything goes better with .....
and
all of the pictures are great
have a great day.

The coke bottle is easy to fill with a funnel and the smaller opening means (at least for me) it's less likely to spill outside the feeder opening when filling the feeder. Of course, I'm fumble fingered so everybody may not have that problem.

Crow

Those photos are awesome. I have the count marked on my calendar!

I am a laid back bird watcher. I always pay attention to the birds in my space. I have a new one this year. I eagerly await the first robin. When the robins and black birds appear and the tractors start humming; I know it is truly Spring. Two sets of baby blue birds hatched in a bird house on my deck last year. I captured a picture of a beautiful wood pecker on a tree off my deck. Cardinals and Blue Jays, mockingbirds and little wrens or sparrows were all around. A big Hawk visits every Spring. Kites soar over sometimes. When you say count.... do you mean types or number. Numbers would be impossible for me. shirleyt

It's just the highest number of each bird that you see. So if the most Blue Jays you see (in the time your watching) are 4 than that is your count for them.

Here is the page for the Tally Sheets. There are 2 types you can use.

http://gbbc.birdsource.org/gbbcApps/checklist

I'm so ready for this and hope all my birds won't disappear during those days. We heard one of our thrashers singing away this morning and I haven't seen them for over a week. Then again, I'm hoping the sky will cooperate for the photo taking too.

Yes, i always hope that the most rare bird in the state will show up at my feeders. LOL.

Me too, Mrs Ed!!

Three more days till it starts!!!

I was curious about how many species of birds there are in the world and googled it, and the concensus is around 10,000.

WOW....

I was really looking forward to the bird count. Now that it's here, I remember how nuts it makes me! I'm counting and recounting. Right now, I know there is a hawk out there but I can't find him!

Got my count done for today! 13 Species

wow!
I just filled my feeders. Won't begin the county yet.

Tomorrow I think I might go to the Grasslands and do a count.

Very good!

Wish I wasn't stuck inside but I'll still be counting all 4 days.

That's good. Most of the time I stay home anyway. Last year I went running all over the place hoping for snow buntings and horned larks. LOL. Didn't find either.

The activity is starting to pick up now. Mostly Junco's,White-throated Sparrows,Titmouse,Chickadee's, Cardinals and Starlings.

Normally I at least go to a nearby lake to get some Ducks, Gulls etc. That's okay next year. :-)

I usually stay home, but tomorrow I'm going to Brazos Bend.

I haven't had 13 species but I had 67 Common Grackles -- yep all grackles, no blackbirds mixed in. I counted them twice and then went out there and chased them off. Hate those grackles!

ha. Elphy! Well good for you for being able to count so many. I think they are a hoot, but I dont' get anywhere near that number.

I don't have near the birds I did last year. We have had a very long and very cold winter for us this year. It started very cold in November and we've had it cold and wet ever since then. For the first time ever, we are going to have snow on the ground for our count. Here in Atlanta, GA!!! I usually take the kids to the zoo in January on a nice 70 degree day that pops in from time to time. We had it in the 20's for over a week instead. And it seems to rain at least 3 days out of every week. It's been a horrible winter here. (Although this snow we got today IS beautiful! I'd say at least 5 inches.) Do you think all the birds went a bit farther south and that's why I don't have many birds. I saw my precious dark-eyed junco's for maybe two or three days. Then nothing. No red-winged black birds. One lone pine warbler. Only my girl red-bellied wood pecker. Etc., etc. Thanks goodness my trusty boy Carolina Wren is still around. And of course the titmice and chickadees.

Tell me, is it this long wet, cold winter that has run them off to Florida?

It's been a miserable winter here also....I haven't seen a fraction of the variety of birds I normally see. Maybe I'll see some when they head back from further South in the spring.

My count and number of species was way down this year too. I haven't seen any warblers in the yard in a while. The horrible weather has driven the bugs into hiding. I hope the bug-eating birds have found food somewhere. One Carolina Wren stuck around and has been going to both seed and suet feeders for the first time ever. You know he's hungry. Well, there are a ton of blue jays out there. I'd better go count them!

Sun was supposed to be out yesterday afternoon. Now, they're saying no sun until later today. At least we don't have snow, but I'm getting gray day blindness.