U.S. Great Backyard Bird Count this Fri-Sun, 18-20th

[Jen Pearson]

Hard not to notice all the bird lovers on 365. Just wanted to alert folks that Cornell University's annual bird count, enlisting as many people as they can (no birding pedigree required), is this weekend, Feb 18-20th. A great excuse to get out and photograph birds while counting in the name of science. A search of "Great Backyard Bird Count" will lead you to the website.

[Sara R]

Oooh! Awesome! I will definitely participate

[Sara R]

Speaking of which... any idea what the brown bird in the middle of this picture is? I think I've identified all the other ones I've gotten pictures of that regularly come to my feeder.

[elkehochban]

Looks like a Goldfinch in winter plumage. In summer, they look like flying dandelions!

[Jen Pearson]

I second Elke's ID--and displaying the typical goldfinch attitude toward sharing :-)

[Sara R]

Ah, cool! Thanks! I didn't realize they changed color so much!

[John Haskell]

@timandelke is on the money, that is a female, no black cap on the forehead

[John Haskell]

@polarvrtx see above, lol, forgot the reply

[Lisabell]

Well, I’ve counted two Eastern Bluebirds this week, and I got so excited when I saw them. I thought they flew south for the winter. I don’t know what makes birds so fascinating.

[D. Marie Williams More]

http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/ is the link I used. It actually runs 4 days - the 17th through the 20th. It doesn't matter how many birds you count, just that you identify them and count them. I am not a birder, but I will participate because I love my birds!

[Jen Pearson]

Thanks, Marie, for finding this and alerting others to it for this year. People should keep in mind that if they want to branch out and record birds in other locations, they can do that--just keep track of where and time of day. I've got some parks nearby that I would like to visit and record sightings in this year.