This will be my third year participating, and I have to say I'm excited about it.
Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Simon Tan, Texas
The idea behind this "Citizen Science" project is to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. This can provide answers to questions such as how the cold winters in some areas are influencing bird populations, and how the timing of bird migrations compares to previous years.
It's simple to do, it's fun and it's FREE.
You can count for as little as 15 minutes, or as long as you like each day of the event. You count the highest number of birds of each species seen together at any one time and report your findings online checklist at the Great Backyard Bird Count website.
Click here for more details on how to participate.
As the count progresses, you can keep track online and see reports from your area and around the country. I live in fairly small town north of Houston and last year I think there were two other people from my area who filed reports. It would be interesting to know who they were!
Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.
2 comments:
Good luck with your count. I always check on the counts from both Tomball and Magnolia since I'm in between. (My counts show up under Magnolia, though.) I just hope it doesn't rain all weekend. That would put a real damper on the fun!
Yes, that would be a bit of a downer wouldn't it? Although I remember a cute experience during a storm a couple of weeks ago. I was at the dining room window and a little goldfinch landed on the trellis I made for the "barbecue planter" on the patio. He shook himself all over several times to dry off and then settled down to wait out the storm. He stayed there quite a while, cozy and dry, in spite of the storm.
Post a Comment