by Glynn Wilson

One of four American gold finches spotted during the Great Backyard Bird Count of 2006

Some of the coldest, wet winter weather in the Southeast this year may hamper the Great Backyard Bird Count of 2006. I will have a report from here by Monday night or Tuesday.

So far, the most interesting sighting around here has been the presence of four gold finches. I managed to snap a few photos of one on Sunday afternoon. While I really need a larger lens to do this professionally, I will be trying to set up a blind in the yard for the Spring bird migration in the hopes of getting some better pictures with my Nikon D50 with a 200 millimeter zoom lens.

There is still time on Sunday afternoon and Monday to dress warm and get outside to see the bird’s hanging out in your yard and contribute a bit of data for the science of birds in your area.

For a bit of motivation, check out this story and photos on the Great Backyard Bird Count of 2005.

Last winter, birders across North America reported more than 6.5 million birds, shattering the previous record of 4.8 million set in 2002. Participants submitted nearly 52,000 checklists, up 22 percent from 2004, and tallied 613 bird species, surpassing the previous record of 567. More than 1,000 photos were considered for the new online photo gallery, which features birds seen from around the continent during the count. At the GBBC web site, you can visit the photo gallery, explore the results, and view the top-10 lists.

Great Backyard Bird Count of 2005

The ninth annual Great Backyard Bird Count is taking place February 17–20, with a special opportunity to “Count Birds with a Buddy,” according to the press release from the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Birders should share their passion with someone new this year, although every participant contributes to scientific knowledge by joining the only count that creates a mid-winter snapshot of how the bird populations are doing across North America.

“People can take as long as they like watching birds as part of their GBBC day,” said Dr. Paul Green, Audubon’s director of Citizen Science.  “Most important is that people get outdoors and have fun counting the birds they see. Then they can be amazed at the results they produce on the GBBC web site; the animated maps are especially great.”
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