Great Backyard Bird Count

Bird feeders filled with seeds will help some birds make it through the coldest nights. Sergey Neanderthalec/Shutterstock

In just a few weeks, winter will be over. Most birds will be happy it is over, too. The typical sparrow or cardinal that comes to a backyard feeder weighs about as much as a quarter. They spend virtually every waking moment looking for food (just like teenagers) and may consume 15 percent of their body weight on a cold winter’s night trying to stay warm.

Bird feeders filled with seeds will help some birds make it through the coldest nights. To estimate the number of birds that have survived the winter before many migrant birds start arriving from the tropics, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology operates the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). This year it will take place Feb. 14-17, and you can do it from the comfort of your living room if you want to. During this annual four-day period, bird-watchers create a snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. Anyone can be a bird-watcher for those four days, and a “backyard” can be anywhere you happen to be: a schoolyard, a local park, an apartment balcony, or a wildlife refuge.

Doing the count is easy: Just count the birds you see at any location. Write down the highest number of each species seen on any of the days. Then, go to www.birdcount.org to record your list. You can also add your list on your phone if you have the Merlin Bird ID app or the eBird Mobile app, both of which are available to download at birdcount.org. There is also a photo contest for those interested.

The GBBC helps everyone prepare for their trip to the backyard, whether they choose to watch birds only around their home or make the effort to see which birds are using public lands.

The results of each survey are displayed on a variety of maps on the ebird.org website. Click on the explore button and go to the species or bar chart menus.

Every year, more people do the count—and more people do more than one count. I do counts of my backyard and a 2-mile-long section of river near my home. Make sure the birds from your community are well represented in the count. It doesn’t matter whether you report the five species coming to your backyard feeder or the 75 species you see during a day’s outing to a wildlife refuge.

This event was developed and managed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, with sponsorship from Wild Birds Unlimited store owners.

I have videos about bird feeding on the Greener View YouTube channel. They cover the best seed types to feed birds, the best types of bird feeders to use and a taste test I ran to determine the best ingredient to fake suet. Check them out in the playlist for Chapter 13, Gardening for Wildlife.

Courtesy of Jeff Rugg

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