Take Part in the Great Backyard Bird Count and Share Your Photos
Photo: Alisa Opar
The starts today! Grab your binoculars, friends or family members, a guidebook and head outside this weekend to tally the avian species you spot. (Bring your camera, too, and share your pics on our page!) And don鈥檛 worry if you鈥檙e afraid of commitment or already have plans for the holiday weekend: You can count birds for as little as 15 minutes.
The annual event, which runs February 18 鈥 21, isn鈥檛 only a hoot鈥攊t also provides valuable information on the state of bird populations.
鈥淲hen thousands of people all tell us what they鈥檙e seeing, we can detect changes in birds鈥 numbers and locations from year to year,鈥 said Janis Dickinson, director of Citizen Science at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which coordinates the GBBC with 约炮视频 and Bird Studies Canada.
For instance, past counts a drop in American crow numbers after outbreaks of in 2003, captured the paths of migrating , and recorded the dramatic spread Eurasian collared-doves.
Visit for instructions, identification tips, regional bird checklists, and more.
Take your camera along and then share your photos on the .
Happy counting!