this weekend: great backyard bird count

So, the forecast this weekend is for snow to drift into Georgia Friday morning. The month of February is also significant because my mom's birthday is in February, and in days she and my dad will be traveling this way so we can celebrate her birthday together. But February is significant for another reason in a bird's life. Right now, with winter weather still in the forecast, it's just about a month before the spring migration begins. And that means it's time for the Great Backyard Bird Count, Feb. 12-15.

I won't explain it all. But you can read more here. I encourage you to explore the site, because there's a lot there. There's lots of ways to participate, and you can devote as little or as much time to it as you wish. And I will share this quote from the site, about why this is done.

"Bird populations are constantly changing. No single scientist or team of scientists could hope to keep track of the complicated patterns of movement of so many species over an entire continent. [...]

The information you send in can provide the first sign that individual species may be increasing or declining from year to year. It shows how a species’ range expands or shrinks over time. A big change, noted consistently over a period of years, is an indication that something is happening in the environment that is affecting the birds and that should be followed up on. GBBC information also allows us to look at what kinds of birds inhabit different areas, such as cities versus suburban.
All the information from the GBBC and other surveys goes into a massive bird database called the Avian Knowledge Network. AKN now holds 36 million records of bird observations which are used by scientists around the world."

At last. My chance to be a science geek. And you don't have to know a lot about birds either. If you have kids, go to the page set up just for them, with ideas and activities -- pictures to download and color, games to play -- all kinds of ways to engage them in looking for and counting the birds. If you're a photographer, pictures you take can be entered in a contest for interesting prizes.

And if you're like me, with a closeted desire to be a science geek, this can lead to a bird counting habit. Because if you find it interesting to be an ambassador for birds, you can count anytime during the year, recording your results with Ebird, or become a citizen scientist through projects with the National Audubon Society program, or the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. So download the checklist for your area and get started. Happy counting!

--Laura