The Great Backyard Bird Count is currently underway!
The Great Backyard Bird Count (or GBBC) is an event that takes place over four days in February each year. It's very easy! All you have to do is watch birds in your yard, a nearby park, or maybe at your school. Then you tell us what you saw by entering your bird list online. We collect that information from people all over the United States and Canada so scientists can learn what kind of birds are being seen in the winter and whether there are more or fewer of them than before.
The GBBC website is a wealth of knowledge. Before you step outside into your yard, print a tally sheet for your area (zip code) to make it easy to keep track of the birds you see. This also helps narrow down species you might be likely to spot in your area. You know...all those finches seem to look similar after a while.
So far, we have counted:
- a flock (est. 50-60) red wing black birds
- one blue jay
- twelve doves
- two cardinals (one male and one female)
- three house sparrows
- one red headed woodpecker
Visit the GBBC kids page for printable bird color sheets, games and more information.
The GBBC site also links to the All About Birds site which is another useful website for young "birders". We looked up each of the species by name that we had listed and could see detailed photos and hear their sounds. My three year old really loved the sounds.
Here is a link to the flickr set we have established to track our bird sightings.
- Eren
