Another Backyard Bird Count

One of my fond childhood memories, growing up in a City housing complex in the Bronx, is watching my mother throwing a slice of white bread out the window onto the small lawn below.  I would watch as pigeons and sparrows descended on the bread.

I had no way of knowing that bread was probably the worst thing to feed a bird, but no matter - I was transfixed by the sight below.

Some 60 years later, my spouse, increasingly fascinated by birds himself, bought our first bird feeder.  We've been feeding birds for two years now, and learning more about them.

Now it's time to give back to science.

It's time for the Great Backyard Bird Count.  It starts tomorrow and you can participate from anywhere in the world.  I believe most entries come from either the United States or India, so how about it, my readers in Canada or elsewhere?

The Great Backyard Bird Count is a worldwide event taking place February 17-20.  No registration is required. No experience level is required. No backyard is required.  All you need is 15 minutes of your time, but you can devote as much time (just a minimum of 15 minutes) per watch.  

You can watch anywhere - from your kitchen window, from an exercise walk, from a stroll along a river, on the beach, to a city park.  Anywhere counts, city or country. If you are traveling, no problem!  Any location counts.  All bird lovers are welcome.

Chances are, you already are familiar with some of the birds in your area.  If not, there are various online ways to identify your new friends.

This is the home page of the Count.  There are several ways to report your finding.  Good pictures are encouraged but not required.  (We don't submit pictures).  And, oh yes, you can win a pair of Zeiss binoculars just for posting your entries.

If you already post using eBird (a free app or desktop application) you are automatically entered just for doing what you already do.

This count is important to scientists who study birds to understand bird population changes, and much more.

So, how about it?