Great Backyard Bird Count 2016 Summary

Two years ago I shared a my 2014 GBBC results with you. I decided to put together another montage of this year's counted bird species. Below you will see many of the birds that I saw during this year's count. Many species are the same as in 2014, with some additions and some subtractions. All of the photos below were taken this year, most of them during the Great Backyard Bird Count.

Click on the montage to enlarge it.

(birds in the montage - center: male House Finch; clockwise from top left: Blue Jay, Northern Mockingbird, American Robin, female Northern Cardinal, Carolina Wren, female Downy Woodpecker, American Crow, two Yellow-rumped Warbler color variations, Mourning Dove, male Northern Cardinal and Ruby-crowned Kinglet)

Following is a list of all of the birds that I was able to identify during this year's count: Cormorant, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, small to medium hawk - probably Cooper's, sharp-shinned or red-shouldered, gull, American Crow, Northern Mockingbird, Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, European Starling, Great-tailed Grackle, Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow-rumped Warbler, White-throated Sparrow, House Finch, Mourning Dove, White-winged Dove, Eurasian Collared Dove, Carolina Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Downy Woodpecker and Eastern Phoebe.

If you participated this year, I hope you had fun. If not I hope this post is inspiration for you to do so next year. If you have been hesitant to count because you are unsure you can identify enough species of birds, try out the free app for you from Cornell Labs, Merlin. It is different than flipping through pages and pages of a field guide and I find it to be very easy to use.

Great Backyard Bird Count Montage

This year during the Great Backyard Bird Count I realized that I have never shared any of my results with my readers and decided I needed to change that. Below you will see a montage of some of the birds that I saw during this year's count. A few of the photos were taken during the count but most of them were taken previously. Click on the montage to enlarge it.

(birds in the montage - center: immature Red-tailed Hawk; clockwise from top left: Dark-eyed Junco, Mourning Dove, White-winged Dove, baby Eastern Bluebird, female Northern Cardinal, male Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Carolina Wren, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Field Sparrow and House Finch)

Following is a list of all of the birds that I was able to identify during this year's count: Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, American Crow, Northern Mockingbird, Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, European Starling, House Sparrow, Field Sparrow, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, Mourning Dove, White-winged Dove, Eurasian Collared Dove, Eastern Bluebird, Carolina Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Red-bellied Woodpecker and Cedar Waxwing.

If you participated this year, I hope you had fun. If not I hope this post is inspiration for you to do so next year. If you have been hesitant to count because you are unsure you can identify enough species of birds, I have a great new, free app for you from Cornell Labs, Merlin. It is different than flipping through pages and pages of a field guide and I found it to be very easy to use.

Great Backyard Bird Count 2012

In my “Science Rocks” blog post earlier this year I mentioned that you didn’t have to be a scientist to contribute to our wealth of scientific knowledge. I encouraged you to become part of a citizen scientist program that meshed with your interests. For all of you nature lovers out there, there is a great opportunity to participate in a valuable, four day, citizen scientist program from your very own backyard starting Friday, February 17, 2012. It is the Great Backyard Bird Count. (GBBC)

The GBBC runs from Friday, February 17 – Monday, February 20. You can count for whatever days you can participate and for as little as 15 minutes a day in order to gather useful data for scientific studies. Print out your regional tally sheet and you are all set to go. There is also a photo contest every year that you can participate in. Check out last year’s fabulous photo contest winners.

So gather up your binoculars and bird ID book (not required) and get some fresh air while making a contribution to science. Click here for other bird related citizen scientist programs.

Great Backyard Bird Count 2011

Do you enjoy getting outside and observing nature? Would you like to participate in a worthwhile project that is great fun for you and your family while helping further scientific knowledge? If so, I hope you will have the opportunity to take part in this year's Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). This is one of many citizen scientist programs that you can participate in by gathering data for research studies.

This year the GBBC will be February 18-21. For more details check out the GBBC website to learn more about how you can participate and to see some amazing photos taken during last year’s event. I took the photo in this post from inside my house during last year's GBBC, which coincided with a record February snow in the DFW area. (Click on the image for a larger view.) Even with the record snowfall, I was able to gather data as the birds flocked to my bird feeders looking for a meal because most of their other food sources were snowed under.

Mark your calendars now, and happy counting!