Great Backyard Bird Count . . .
The Great Backyard Bird Count took place last weekend. This is an annual event that allows everyone to count birds and submit their numbers to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. Beginners and experts alike share the birds they see in their backyards for one weekend a year. The data is gathered, mapped and is searchable when it is finished.
This year I participated. I kept my feeders full of different kinds of seeds for over a week and by the weekend I had a good group of birds to count. Nothing exotic or strange showed up in my yard, just the normal winter visitors. I had an abundance of Chickadees, followed by the Common Redpoll, Nuthatches of two varieties, Bluejays, Downy Woodpeckers, a few Goldfinches (who are currently not even a little bit yellow) and a pair of Ravens flying overhead. Except for the Chickadees, the birds were pretty skittish about having me stand out there by the feeders with my camera … but with patients and the ability to stand very still, I was able to capture a few of my feathered weekend visitors. And, here they are . . . (click to enlarge images)
A Nuthatch.
A Common Redpoll.
And, of course, a Chickadee … dee … dee …
(I would love to have their song as my phones new ring tone ;-))
“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.” ~ Chinese Proverb
Bear in Mind 
The Common Redpoll is unusual and very pretty.
Not all of them have that much red … they are mostly brown little birds, with light bellies and very “common” around here in the winter cleaning up the seeds on the ground around the feeders. I was lucky that the one that feared me the least was so colorful.
Oh, the Great Backyard Bird count! We have never participated, but have admired those who did. Lovely bird pics, bearyweather. Good job!
Thanks, it turned out to be a great sunny saturday. I will have to remind you ahead of time next year, so that you can join in … it is very, very easy to report your birds.
Very nice photos! I’ve thought about doing that count too, but we have very few species around this time of year.
Not very many species here, either. However, that is the point of the count … to show where the birds are (and where they are not).
It definitely makes counting easy. 😉
I wish they would do two of them .. one during the warmer months, too.
Beautiful photos, bearyweather! I haven’t seen a Redpoll in probably 30 years, they are quite a sight 🙂
I agree .. they are fun to watch.
Hi Bearyweather, I hope to participate next year. Too much going on for me this year to do it. Your picture of the Red Poll is lovely. I have never seen a Red Poll before. It is great! Have a fabulously nice week!
What I like about it is that it is easy … you just have to watch your bird feeders. I sat at the table correcting school papers with one eye on my yard. (I did take a break to go out with my camera)
I look forward to seeing what shows up in your yard next year.
Beautiful images, Bearyweather. I’m thinking about participating next year. I’m terrible at identifying birds (and people, for that matter) and would like to work on that over the next year in hopes that I’ll get better at it.
Thanks Robin. During the backyard bird count, there are very few species of birds in my yard so identification is pretty easy … it is just our normal everyday visitors. I am not good at identifying the unknown ones, either. However, that is where my camera comes in …. I take pictures of them and then visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website that contains a wonderful, searchable, bird guide to find out what they are. The site is called : All About Birds (.org)
So, you don’t have to know what they are beforehand, you just have to take some pictures and do research later.
I hope you participate next year …