Great Backyard Bird Count

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The Great Backyard Bird Count is this weekend, February 12-15. This is a great activity for families and for classrooms. The four-day event gives a real-time snapshot of where birds are.

And it's simple, fun, and free. Just count the number of birds you see in a time period. How many cardinals are at the bird feeder in a fifteen minute time period? How many mourning doves are in your yard during the day? Are there any owls or woodpeckers or finches?

The following is copied from the official website for the event (http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/howto.html)

1. Plan to count birds for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the count. You can count for longer than that if you wish! Count birds in as many places and on as many days as you like—one day, two days, or all four days. Submit a separate checklist for each new day. You can also submit more than one checklist per day if you count in other locations on that day.

2. Count the greatest number of individuals of each species that you see together at any one time. You may find it helpful to print out your regional bird checklist to get an idea of the kinds of birds you're likely to see in your area in February. You could take note of the highest number of each species you see on this checklist.

3. When you're finished, enter your results through our web page. You'll see a button marked "Enter Your Checklists!" on the website home page beginning on the first day of the count. It will remain active until the deadline for data submission on March 1st.

Sources:

http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/Bird-count-020910

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