Great Backyard Bird Count
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The Great Backyard Bird Count
The Great Backyard Bird Count is a fun and free way to experience wildlife during the winter months.
You do not need any supplies to participate. You can participate in as little as 15 minutes. You do not need to leave the comfort of your own home, if you don't want to. All residents of the United States and Canada may participate anytime from February 17-20, 2012.
What are you waiting for? Check the Great Backyard Bird Count website for details.
Photo credit: JMitaStudios
You do not need any supplies to participate. You can participate in as little as 15 minutes. You do not need to leave the comfort of your own home, if you don't want to. All residents of the United States and Canada may participate anytime from February 17-20, 2012.
What are you waiting for? Check the Great Backyard Bird Count website for details.
Photo credit: JMitaStudios
Contents at a Glance
Important!
Participation is easy
Step 1. Observe birds for 15 minutes
Step 2. Write down which birds you see and how many
Step 3. Enter your data on the Great Backyard Bird Count website
Step 2. Write down which birds you see and how many
Step 3. Enter your data on the Great Backyard Bird Count website
Get Started Now
The Great Backyard Bird Count website is fabulous. Highlights include:
- A section for kids
- identify common bird songs | make a meal treat for birds | crosswords | printable coloring sheets
- A backyard birding blog
- test
- GBBC photo contest rules
- The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts. It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day,
- A list of classroom activities for educators
- ways to involve kids | backyard activities | making feeders | schoolyard feeding stations | learn about feeder types
Bird Count Poll
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Great Backyard Bird Count Overview
A how-to video
Step 1. Observe birds for 15 minutes.
Step 2. Write down which birds you see and how many.
Step 3. Enter your data on the Great Backyard Bird Count website.
Printable Great Backyard Bird Count instructions are available as well.
Step 2. Write down which birds you see and how many.
Step 3. Enter your data on the Great Backyard Bird Count website.
Printable Great Backyard Bird Count instructions are available as well.
curated content from YouTube
Backyard Bird Quiz
Take this backyard bird quiz and see if you can identify 20 of the most common backyard birds of North America.
Winter Birds
Do you know your winter birds?
Birding Statistics
- most reported bird
-birds on decline
- make your predictions
The European Starling
was the #1 reported bird from the 2011 Great Backyard Bird Count.
Interesting Fact
Did you know that the European Starling was first introduced to North America by Shakepeare enthusiasts who wanted to introduce all of the birds mentioned in Shakespeare's work to the United States?First brought to North America by Shakespeare enthusiasts in the nineteenth century, European Starlings are now among the continent's most numerous songbirds. They are stocky black birds with short tails, triangular wings, and long, pointed bills. Though they're sometimes resented for their abundance and aggressiveness, they're still dazzling birds when you get a good look. Covered in white spots during winter, they turn dark and glossy in summer. For much of the year, they wheel through the sky and mob lawns in big, noisy flocks.
Source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology
What Shakespearean work mentions the starling? Henry IV.
The quote: "The king forbade my tongue to speak of Mortimer. But I will find him when he is asleep, and in his ear I'll holler 'Mortimer!' Nay I'll have a starling shall be taught to speak nothing but Mortimer, and give it to him to keep his anger still in motion"
European Starling - small black bird with iridescent green and purple feathers
Top 10 Birds Reported on the Most Checklists for 2010 Bird Count
Featuring 7 Squidoo Lenses on Popular GBBC Birds
Three top-10 birds need their own squidoo lens. They are: Dark-eyed Junco, Dewey Woodecker, and American Crow.
Prediction Station
Which bird will be the most reported bird for the 2012 bird count?
lemonsqueezy predicts:
Which bird will be the most reported bird for the 2011 bird count?
RenaissanceWoman2010 predicts:
Perhaps the Junco.
iijuan12 predicts:
Grackles are the most common ones around here.
bjslapidary predicts:
The chickadees.
hirephp predicts:
i vote for the American Goldfinch
Tolovaj predicts:
I vote for Blue Jays.
5 Common Birds in Decline
View 5 common North American birds with the greatest population declines since 1967
Source: National Audubon Society
Northern Bobwhite
Evening Grosbeak
Snow Bunting
Northern Pintail Duck
Little Blue Heron
Birdwatching 101
How to Get Started with Bird Watching
Watch Wayne Peterson, director of the Massachusetts Audobon Society Important Bird Area Program.
curated content from YouTube
Overview of Birding Equipment
Get an overview of birding equipment and how to get started in birding in this free bird watching video.
Basic Bird Watching Supplies
1. Binoculars (or just use your eyes)
The truth is, you don't need any equipment for bird watching. However, you could add to your experience with any of these basic supplies.
A simple and basic pair of binoculars is helpful while bird watching.
A simple and basic pair of binoculars is helpful while bird watching.
2. Field Guide
A good field guide is very helpful. (I recommend Peterson.)
Gifts for Birdwatchers
Gift Memberships = the Best Gift
Gift memberships to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the National Audubon Society, and Bird Studies Canada are also great gifts and help fund research, education, and citizen-science projects. Ten Unique Gifts
Bird Bucket List
Bird Count
News, Blogs, and Tweets
Up-to-the Minute GBBC News
Birding Blog by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Get a Poster
The 2012 Great Backyard Bird Count flyer is here--and it's a beauty! You can download the flyer as a PDF. If you wish to receive hard copies for distribution at talks, workshops, bird walks, etc. please contact any of the following:Audubon: citizenscience@audubon.org
Cornell Lab: gbbc@cornell.edu
Bird Studies Canada: gbbc@birdscanada.org
Bird Scout Badges
In the Flyway Brownie Try-it
offered by Girl Scouts of Northern California
Girl Scouts of Northern California offers a Birds Brownie Try-it. They ask that out-of-council scouts contact them at patches@girlscoutsnorcal.org before earning the try-it, to make ensure that they have enough try-its for your group.Here are some links that will help earn the Brownie Flyaway try-it.
1. Identification. Click on any of the GBBC coloring pages for identification tips.
2. Bird Calls. Play GBBC's Guess Who's Squawkin' game from the GBBC For Kids page.
3. Bird Art. Draw or paint a bird of your choice or color any of the birds found here.
4. Bird Count. Participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count. You only need 15 minutes of time between February 13-16, 2009. Don't forget to enter your results online.
5. Hide and Seek. How to identify bird eggs (video).
6. Build a Nest. Look at some of the tricks birds use to keep their nests concealed (video).
Please contact Girl scouts of Northern California if you have questions about this try-it.
This module only appears with actual data when viewed on a live lens. The favorite and lensroll options will appear on a live lens if the viewer is a member of Squidoo and logged in.
Countdown to The Next GBBC Bird Count
The Next GBBC Bird Count: February 17, 2012
What is your most memorable birding experience?
Share your thoughts and comments here.
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Steve_Kaye
Apr 23, 2012 @ 4:06 pm | delete
- I go out birding almost every day. So it's a challenge to name the ONE big day that's especially memorable. Maybe it was the day that I spent 15 minutes scrambling over rocks and shrubs trying to take photos of Black-capped Chickadees as they flew from tree to tree. Or maybe it was the day a Common Raven flew close overhead and tipped its wing toward me as it passed.
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RenaissanceWoman2010
Feb 14, 2012 @ 10:59 am | delete
- I will be participating this year for the first time. Went out yesterday to do a preliminary reconnaissance mission. My main sightings were juncos, nuthatches, a hawk, a magpie, some shrikes, and a few ravens. These were just a few of the birds in my backyard on a snowy day. I may choose four different sites and participate on all four days of the count. Thanks for this very informative and interesting lens. It has me excited to get started.
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JaguarJulie Jan 31, 2012 @ 2:44 pm | delete
- Gosh, I do think it was about a month ago, about 9am est when I was looking out my front window at the Drake Elm tree. It was loaded with tiny birds of all kinds. Flitting here and there, in little packs.
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- Gosh, I do think it was about a month ago, about 9am est when I was looking out my front window at the Drake Elm tree. It was loaded with tiny birds of all kinds. Flitting here and there, in little packs.
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cffutah
Jan 30, 2012 @ 10:59 pm | delete
- I've enjoyed all the bird articles I've seen tonight, well done on this.
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- Load More
More about Birds
by Lemonsqueezy
by lemonsqueezy
Hey there! My name is lemonsqueezy and I am participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count for the fourth year in a row.
My motto is "no regrets," and...
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Bird Book for Toddlers
This unusual book is both a story and a beginning nature guide featuring 12 of the most common backyard birds of North America.
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