Great Backyard Bird Count begins Friday, Feb. 15 thru Sunday

The Great Backyard Bird Count starts tomorrow and runs through Sunday. This will be DH's and my third year. This year we are in a new home, so it will be interesting to see the number and species of birds we count. For the past two GBBC's we lived in an apartment, and it was amazing how many birds were attracted to the approximate 1/4 acre we could observe from our balcony with a birdfeeder tube and tray. This year we have ten acres, so we're hoping to observe greater numbers, if not species.


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


We also participate in Project Feederwatch at

www.birds.cornell.edu

where you count the species and numbers of birds that come to your feeder on two consecutive days of your choosing each week.

What I especially like about the GBBC is that you can spend as little as 15 minutes on one day counting birds if that's all the time you have, or you can devote hours to it. And unlike Project Feederwatch, in which you count only birds that are attracted by your property's birdfeeder, you can go further afield with GBBC, such as a local park, a mall, your neighborhood. It's an opportunity to count and report on a larger scale.

This is a wonderful way to spend time with children, too. They love observing birds and learning their names. And the actual reporting of their observations gives them a feeling of being part of something larger and meaningful. They can see their own results and what others in their area have reported.

Pamgarden - Thanks for the reminder. This is my 2nd year with PFW, but my first for GBBC. PFW is such fun. I never realized how many different birds I see at my feeders. Becky

Thanks for posting this Pam!

We are watching the bluebirds especially in hopes of getting nesting couples in our two bluebird houses. It will be a first for us, since we put the houses up after the nesting season last year. The birds seem to have paired off in couples and are looking into the hole and going inside, but without any nesting material. It may be too early for actual nest building. We can hardly wait.