How to Become Part of a Large Backyard Birdcount
Get ready to count the birds, because bird counting in the great Audubon backyard starts today, February 12th, and runs until Monday, 15th. This is a beginner’s activity and is even easier to participate than Christmas bird counting .
You don’t even need a backyard. Just find a place where you can see birds. This is a great time to visit a local park or nature reserve. Count the birds for at least 15 minutes to participate “in any number of locations and on any number of days.” You will maintain a separate checklist for each walk. In addition to seeing the species of birds, be sure to count (or estimate) how many birds you have seen. Two cardinals at your trough. 20 geese on the lake.
The February bird count has always been a highlight in the middle of winter, but the pandemic is making it even more spectacular. Your bird feeder becomes a citizen science project connecting you with other poultry farmers around the world. And you have a new excuse to wrap yourself up and go outside if you’ve seen your inner walls too often lately. It is even relatively safe to meet others outdoors, although Audubon notes:
… we urge members to abide by all applicable rules and guidelines of a country, province, state, First Nation land or municipality. This includes, but is not limited to, social distancing when watching birds and wearing a mask when watching birds with other people. Thank you for protecting yourself and your community by celebrating the wonders of the birds.
Regardless of whether you go outside or not, you can also sit down and watch the counters appear on this map , or browse by species and view photos here .
For your accounts to contribute to the worldwide citizen science project, you will need an account on the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology website and you can record your checklists either there or in the eBird app.
The goal of the project is to collect data on bird populations and how they change over time. (Large backyard bird counts are conducted annually.) You can also view the data yourself to see which birds your neighbors have spotted near you. Maybe you will see them the next time you go out somewhere!
This post was first published in February 2020 and was updated on February 12, 2021 for this year’s event.