Don’t miss out on the chance to participate in the National Great Backyard Bird Count. Not only will you be helping scientists determine migration patterns and breeding of wild birds, but you may also win a prize. So take some time to stop and view the birds, whether it is from your dining room window, like mine, or from a walk in the park, you’ll be sure to find a few to count.
The Great Backyard Bird Count is taking place today through the Presidents Day weekend. You can participate by finding at least 15 minutes during the weekend to stop and observe the birds. You can then log into the web page and type the number of each species that you see in the check boxes. Don’t worry if you aren’t very good at identifying the birds, there are links with photos for each type of bird. And there is also a check box to declare the level of bird-observing skill you have. You can participate more than once, by logging in different times or observation locations.
After you observe and record your birds, your data will be added to those of other participants, and you can see it all on a map. That is pretty cool. This seems like a great home schooling activity, because it involves scientific observation and data gathering. It also help you identify the birds that may be hanging out in your backyard. The website includes other features, such as printable certificate for participating in the bird count.
You can also upload photos and videos of your bird. The videos go through YouTube.
If you participate, I would love to hear about your experiences and your results. For us, I did this with my kids. We observed, from the comfort of our home, the following birds: Blue Jay, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Tufted Titmouse, Song Sparrow, Mourning Dove, Northern Cardinal, House Finch, Dark Eyed Junco and Black-Capped Chickadee. We may head out for more observation, since we have previously spotted a Blue Heron or Crane, a few different hawks, some sort of owl and ducks and geese.
To learn more about the Great Backyard Bird Count, click here: http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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