Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Counting birds


Ian and I are getting ready for the Great Backyard Bird Count! It's an annual event that happens across the country in order to take a tally of the birds we see in our own backyard. Experts are able to use these numbers to compare with the previous years species and total numbers. It takes as little as 15 minutes of your time just one day or you can spend hours over the 4 days counting bird sightings. We are reading up on bird species, hoping to identify some when we go out looking. Here's a list of the top birds seen in 2008.

It begins on February 13 and goes for 4 days. All it requires is 15 minutes in your yard, counting individual birds (identifying them if possible), and then logging online to report your findings. You can even boost your chances of seeing them by putting out birdseed to attract them.

This will be our first year doing it but it's a great excuse for the family to get out and observe nature, taking notice of the little creatures in the process. Only two days to go!

Photo by NP

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3 comments:

Linda said...

That sounds like such a fun thing to do with the boys Andrea. I love watching all the little birds that come for a drink in our birdbath. Perhaps I'll take a few minutes and give this a try.
Thanks for sharing the information.
Hope all is well there!

Tasha Lehman said...

That looks fun! I'll have to look into that. Thanks for sharing!

Betsy said...

I thought of this post yesterday as Hunter pointed at a little brown sparrow in the driveway and excitedly exclaimed "Look Mom! A CHICKEN!!" Oh, little boys. :)