[tags, forest, school, open, play, woods]
It's that time of year again...the Great Backyard Bird Count(GBBC)! It is this weekend, February 12 - 15th, 2016. The GBBC is a very simple citizen project that you can do with your children and learn so much about common winter birds in our area. The Cornell Lab of Orthniology and the Audobon Society host this event every year to help collect data on various species of birds around the globe. And you can help them all from the comfort of your home if you are finding it too cold to go outside. A bird feeder outside the window helps, but not necessary. Just look around on the ground, bushes and trees you view from your window. If you feel adventurous, go out and observe them in the wild. Maybe you will start to learn various bird calls as well. (Something I have no patience for)
All it takes is an account on the Great Backyard Bird count website: http://gbbc.birdcount.org/ and 15 minutes of your time on at least one of the days this President's Day weekend. You will then log your observations either on the website or on the ebird app. (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=edu.cornell.birds.ebird&hl=en)
Not sure the names of the birds? We have found the Birds of New Jersey Field Guide by Stan Tekiela and the Merlin Bird Id app (http://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/) helpful.
Comment below if you plan to participate, and follow up with any kind of bird you observed.
Here are some helpful tips for identifying some of the tricky ones:
The Sparrows ID:
A sparrow, a sparrow
Grey, buff and brown are we.
But look closely and you can see
How different we may be.
The American Tree sparrow, you will see
A rusty cap on his head has he;
with a grey eye stripe you can see.
The breast is grey and remains streak free.
The male House Sparrow you will see
A black bib has he.
The female is rather the sparrow epitome.
A tan breast and speckled wings has she.
The Song Sparrow is the smallest of these,
And a grey brown speckled chest has he.
The Finch
The House and Purple Finch
With their bold red heads
Are easy to spot
And in a pinch,
look at the tops.
A Purple Finch will be all red:
While the House Finch wears a small brown cap
Upon his head.
Their wives are brown with white upon their chest,
Not like the gray of the sparrow ladies.
A look upon their beaks
Will tell you if it's a house or purple finch
you peek.
Missus House Finch, grey is her beak
From the dust she cleans from her home.
Downy vs Hairy Woodpecker
Black and While with a patch of red,
As a small woodpecker I tread.
Take a close look, a beak you can see.
Tiny and pin like, a Downy I be.
Thicker and longer, it's a Hairy you see.
