Personal Count Summary for  2011-2012 : welcome wildlife

The 2012 GBBC will take place Friday, February 17, through Monday, February 20. Please join us for the 15th annual count!

The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts. It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count for as long as you like each day of the event. It’s free, fun, and easy—and it helps the birds.

Participants count birds anywhere for as little or as long as they wish during the four-day period. They tally the highest number of birds of each species seen together at any one time. To report their counts, they fill out an online checklist at the Great Backyard Bird Count website.

As the count progresses, anyone with Internet access can explore what is being reported from their own towns or anywhere in the United States and Canada. They can also see how this year’s numbers compare with those from previous years. Participants may also send in photographs of the birds they see. A selection of images is posted in the online photo gallery.

Scientists and bird enthusiasts can learn a lot by knowing where the birds are. Bird populations are dynamic; they are constantly in flux. No single scientist or team of scientists could hope to document the complex distribution and movements of so many species in such a short time.

Scientists need your help. Make sure the birds from your community are well represented in the count. It doesn’t matter whether you report the 5 species coming to your backyard feeder or the 75 species you see during a day’s outing to a wildlife refuge.

Kids watch and count birds in your yard, a nearby park, or maybe at your school. Report what you saw by entering your bird list online.

By doing this, we learn what kind of birds are being seen in the winter and whether there are more or fewer of them than before. Learn more about how to participate.

You’ll have more fun if you learn more about birds.

Great Backyard Bird Count For Kids

Video by irvineAP.

* Photo by magnificentfrigatebird via flickr.com.

This is a video of a pigeon “snowboarding” on a snowy roof. The bird appeared to be using the lid of a jar as an improvised snowboard.

Spectacular Snowy Owls are on the move! In November the owls began moving well south of their usual winter range in Canada, with reports as far south as Kansas. Read more about the phenomenon in this eBird article. And even if you don’t see a Snowy Owl in your state or province during the GBBC you can still appreciate how truly beautiful these birds as you watch this YouTube video about the welcome “invasion.”

This video has amazing photos and footage of the Snowy Owl!

Make sure your local birds are represented in the upcoming Great Backyard Bird Count. The 15th annual GBBC takes place February 17-20. Everything you need to know to participate is on the website at www.birdcount.org, including downloadable instructions, FAQs, and a how-to video. Get a regional list of the birds you might see in your area in February so you can brush up on your identification skills ahead of time.

Statistics from 2011
Total Checklists Submitted: 92,218

Total Species Observed: 594

Total Individual Birds Counted: 11,471,949

All columns of data are not visible.

This ground squirrel seemed very wary and stood erect never moving like a stone statue for almost a minute. I ran to get my camera thinking that it would be gone by the time I got back. Luckily, the squirrel was still standing like a statue.

The squirrel’s upper parts are mottled, the fur containing a mixture of gray, light brown and dusky hairs; the underside is lighter, buff or grayish yellow. The fur around the eyes is whitish, while that around the ears is black. The tail usually lies flat on the ground and does not arch up over its back as with other squirrels.

This picture isn’t very clear but it shows the grayish mottled coat and the tail.

The California Ground Squirrel is a common ground squirrel of the western United States and the Baja California peninsula; it is common in Oregon and California and its range has relatively recently extended into Washington and northwestern Nevada.

California Ground Squirrels live in burrows which they excavate themselves. Some burrows are occupied communally. Although they readily become tame in areas used by humans, and quickly learn to take food left or offered by picnickers, they spend most of their time within 25 m (82 ft) of their burrow, and rarely go further than 50 m (160 ft) from it.

American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) and Lesser Goldfinch (Carduelis psaltria) are members of the family Fringillidae and the genus Carduelis.

Finches are small, colorful birds with conical bills adapted to seed cracking. They nest in late summer, after most birds have fledged their young. They build finely woven cup nests in trees and shrubs, lining them with thistle and milkweed down. Females usually do the nest building and incubation, while males contribute food to them and their young.  Their food preferences are thistle seed, sunflower seed, and sunflower hearts.

Last week a female Lesser Goldfinch collected nesting materials from one of my hanging flower baskets while the male Lesser Goldfinch perched atop a stake nearby. I was able to get photos of the male but the female flitted around too much and I could not get a clear picture.