but the the squirrels just can’t resist . . .
I know a lot of you are avid backyard birdwatchers, either at the feeders you place in your gardens, from your windows, or when you’re out and about, so I don’t want you to miss the Great Backyard Bird Count happening this weekend, February 16 – 19.
What is the Great Backyard Birdcount? It’s a partnership between the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the National Audubon Society, and Birds Canada. Begun in 1998, the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) was the first online participatory-science project (also referred to as community science or citizen science) to collect data on wild birds and to display results in near real time. You can read all about the project – and its history – here.
How to participate? It’s easy! All you need is . . . 15 minutes and some way to identify the birds you see – or hear – around you. Then you just count ’em up and report back to the GBBC. You can find participation and reporting details here.
Tom and I plan to sit out on our patio and front porch with our binoculars and our Merlin apps at various times this weekend. We’ll keep a list and then enter our sightings – and soundings – using eBird (an app that is sort of the reporting “extension” of the Merlin app). There are other ways to report your findings, too, which are detailed in the participation page linked above.
It’s fun. It’s easy. And . . . it’s science! I hope you’ll give it a try!
=====
One more thing: If you have even the slightest interest in the birds around you, I highly recommend the Merlin app from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. It is amazing – and free! I love turning on the “sound id” feature, and letting “Merlin” identify all the birds – by sound – in my garden.
On my walk this morning (a walk with no snow or rain… iykyk) and I heard so much more birdsong that I did at the same time yesterday! The birds are loving these extra minutes of each day and I am loving listening to their joyful songs as I amble along with Sherman! I am game for the bird count this weekend as well… and for anyone not sure about the Merlin app… well, it turned Steve into a birder and that’s saying something!
We’re in the middle of nor’easter that’s dumping lots of snow. Our predictions ranged from flurries to 10″ so you know this is a storm they couldn’t pinpoint! All that is to say that I know the birds will be active at the feeder for the next few days and I hope to see/hear plenty this weekend, too.
Our birds are very active this morning and it’s snowing heavily. There’s something especially lovely about bluebirds in the snow. I’ve used the eBird app for a very long time but perhaps I need to switch to the Merlin app instead.
I just want to add that Merlin is fun to use when traveling, too! I am prompted to add relevant “bird packs” when we’re in a new area, and I now I have Saffron Finch and Blue-gray Tanager on my Life List! Kate’s even more diligent than I and I’m sure she has a few more “exotic” birds that we (should) never see in the Upper Midwest.
I love the Merlin app!
I am also loving the bird pics you get from your secret birdie camera!
I love the Merlin app! It’s truly what got me more interested in birds. I hope you two have fun counting!
I am off to get that app right now! Thanks for the suggestion.
The Merlin App is such a good one. I enjoy these bird photos that come from your snazzy feeder. The squirrels do get into everything.
The Merlin App is one of my favorite new things this year! We’re still not seeing many birds (too cold, too wet, too dark) but we’re hearing them enough to know they’re still around.