2018 Great Backyard Bird Count

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This is an annual event, and the data collected is used by scientists studying bird migration and biology.

This is the web page that explains The Great Backyard Bird Count.


The Basics of The Great Backyard Bird Count

  • Count birds for at least 15 minutes on Feb 16, 17, 18, or 19, 2018
  • Keep track of how long you counted and how far you walked
  • Start a new count for each new place or day/time

Here's The Great Backyard Bird Count FAQ page.

If you want to contribute your data, you'll need a free ebird account (see the Register button on the top left, next to a small bird in flight icon), but you can also just create your own personal tracking post in this thread.

Frankly, I'm just going to track my birds here, and in my journal as usual, because the data entry is difficult if you're not fully sighted (binoculars do not work on web pages).

But the data is used by scientists in a lot of ways.
 

MaeZe

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Thanks for the link. Yesterday I was in the backyard, the Sun had been up for about an hour and the forest was lit from the side. There were dozens of different bird calls and birds flitting from tree to tree. I saw six different species just in the trees.
 

talktidy

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Well my apple tree used to be full of tit mice, primarily blue tits.

Then I inherited a cat and I stopped feeding the birds to be on the safe side -- my neighbours picked up the slack with other bird feeders.
 

mrsmig

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I should be doing this - I've participated in the past - but I have so much going on this month (not the least of which is the release of my next book on Tuesday and my first signing on Wednesday) that I just haven't got the time. In fact, I should be working right now...aiiieeeeeee.....
 

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I'm going to try to do this tomorrow, and report here.
 

Marlys

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Cool. I'll do it, too. I'm pretty sure I did it once before, but it was years ago.
 

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Okay, I took 45 minutes and counted 15 species in my back yard. No real surprises except a Turkey Vulture that passed by overhead; seems like the usual springtime crowd of European Starlings and Common Grackles are early this year. They absolutely destroy the suet I put out for my woodpeckers.

ETA: I did the count again this morning. The usual suspects again, except for a pair of juvenile red-winged blackbirds. I always regard them as a sure harbinger of spring.
 
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