02.19.10
Great Backyard Bird Count of 2010 – At My House
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
We had a great weekend for the annual backyard bird count from February 12th – 15th. The GBBC is a project that regular citizens participate by counting the birds at the feeders for four days. The report includes where the birds were counted, when, for how long, the specifics about the weather and of course the largest number of every species that were counted at any one time.
On February 12, 2010 it was snowing in Central Alabama. That ended up being a good thing because there was enough snow on the ground that the birds were very visible and easier to count. Also, the cold weather brought more birds out to get an easy meal at the feeders. The number of birds on that snowy day was probably twice what I usually see each day. Too tempting for a Sharp-shinned Hawk who decided to drop into the ‘feeder’ tree and stay for awhile, no doubt waiting on his easy meal. Luckily all the little birds quickly got out of his way. We let him sit in the tree for a few minutes (for pictures) then went out and scared him away. The little birds were back in no time.
I counted 27 species throughout the weekend and took many pictures to help me verify my count. My results included the following:
Canada Geese 15
Mourning Dove 22
Sharp-Shinned Hawk 1
Red-Bellied Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 3
Blue Jay 8
American Crow 6
Carolina Chickadee 5
Tufted Titmice 6
Carolina Wren 1
Eastern Bluebird 3
American Robin 6
Northern Mockingbird 3
Brown Thrasher 1
Eastern Towhee 2
Chipping Sparrow 4
Fox Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 3
White-Throated Sparrow 5
Dark Eyed Junco 11
Northern Cardinal 20
Purple Finch 8
House Finch 7
American Goldfinch 47
Turkey Vulture 3
Common Crackle 350
Pine Warbler 1
American Goldfinch
Ten Northern Cardinals and Three American Goldfinches. Can you find them all?
The Great Backyard Bird Count is a part of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Citizen Science Program. The National Audubon Society also helps to sponsor the GBBC. Birdwatchers from all over the country send in their reports. In 2008 there were 85,700 reports collected according to Cornell. The data collected from this weekend helps the scientists learn things about the well-being of birds and any major changes that have taken place. It helps to keep them informed of significant changes in the population either up or down of common birds across the country. It also helps to find out about birds in the country that are not ordinarily in our area. They learn all kinds of trends and other important facts from this one weekend.
If you did not participate this past weekend, plan on it for next February. Cornell also sponsors a Feederwatch Program during the winter months. Those participating in this program pick two days to watch their feeders each week and report the results. This program is also very important for the reasons mentioned and gives more long term data to study. Both the GBBC and the Feederwatch programs are great ways to get your kids and grand-kids involved in nature as you feed and count the birds together. They will love it.
There is much to enjoy and learn from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology web site. If you have never visited the site, it is time, especially if you are beginning the hobby of bird watching. The web URL is http://www.birds.cornell.edu/NetCommunity/membership.
Enjoy their web site and Happy Birding to you all.
