Backyard Bird Count 2023

One of my fond childhood memories, growing up in a New York City Housing Authority complex , 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.  One bird in particular caught my eye - a bird that I now know may have been a male house sparrow in breeding plumage.

In fact, don't think you can't bird if you live in a city.

Some 60 years later, my spouse, increasingly fascinated by birds himself, bought our first bird feeder.  We've been feeding birds since 2020 and learning more about them.

Now it's time, once again, to give back to science.

It's time for the Great Backyard Bird Count.  It started yesterday and continues through Monday.  You you can participate from anywhere in the world.    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.  Watch like we do from our kitchen window, or from an exercise walk.  Watch from a stroll along a river, on the beach, or a city park.  Anywhere counts, city or country. If you are traveling, no problem!  Any location counts.  All bird lovers are welcome.

All birds count, whether you see them or hear them (or both).

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.  Take pictures if you want.  (We don't submit pictures).  Also, you can win a pair of Zeiss binoculars just for posting your entries.

If you already post using Merlin or  eBird free apps and eBird is also available via your computer) you are automatically entered just for doing what you already do.  If you are new to birding, it's recommended that you use the Merlin app, which will also generate a life list (list of birds you've seen or heard in your lifetime) and allow you to identify the birds through recordings or photos.

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

I hope you will join in.

We didn't participate but are today, from the comfort of our kitchen and dining room windows.  In case you are interested, birds we've seen today include:  Canada geese, dark-eyed juncos, Northern cardinals, black-capped chickadees, and Carolina wrens, although we've only had one 15 minute stretch of viewing.  We hope to be able to see downy woodpeckers and mourning doves, at least, before the Count ends. 

Will you be participating?

A River of Crows

During the winter, American crows will head to trees in late afternoon, before night starts to fall.

I observed this behavior back in 2021 as a beginning person interested in observing birds.

As I found out then while researching, it's a matter of protection, as crows are nearly helpless at night.  The crows gather in large numbers, sometimes in the hundreds, and jockey for nighttime position.  The unfortunate ones who are in the outer parts of the cluster are more vulnerable to night hunting birds such as owls.

I haven't seen too much of the gathering behavior since then - perhaps I was in the wrong place in the wrong time.

But, several times this month, I have seen groups of crows flying.  One clump (if I can call it that) flies overhead, cawing, on February 13.

Then another group.

And still another.  This Audubon article explains what I was seeing.

All you have to do to see amazing things, sometimes, is look up.

I love watching crows, but I'm not sure I would have been happy to have that river of crows alight in my back yard trees.

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?

The Great Backyard Bird Count

I can remember, growing up in an apartment complex in the Bronx, 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 almost a year now, and learning more about them.

We are far from expert, and my spouse is far better than I am.   But this event doesn't care.

The Great Backyard Bird Count, now in its 25th year, is a worldwide event taking place February 18-21.  No registration 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 don't need a backyard, either.  You can bird anywhere - from your kitchen window, from an exercise walk, from a stroll along a river, on the beach.  Anywhere counts, city or country.  Little or no experience is needed.  

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 site is the home page of the Count.  There are several ways to report your findings and you have a few days to do it in.  Good pictures are encouraged but not required.

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

Here are some of my friends.  

Today, where I live, it is blustery and we've had one snow squall, but it isn't keeping the birds away.  (Full disclosure, this picture was taken February 9).  The birds on the ground on the left are mourning doves.  On the feeder right above them are a pair of northern cardinals.  Between the feeder pole and the tree is a small bird, a dark-eyed junco.

I don't have a good camera that can zoom in, and I don't want to give my readers eye strain.

Here's a picture of the sky during the squall.

Birds we've seen so far include: black capped chickadees, tufted titmice, white-breasted nuthatches, northern cardinals, mourning doves, hairy, red bellied, and downy woodpeckers, dark eyed juncos, a song sparrow (we think), and even a blue jay (rare visitors to our yard).

It's estimated over 300,000 people participated in the 2021 count.  Will you be one of those participating in 2022?