The annual Great Backyard Bird Count is scheduled for Feb. 12-15,reports The Rural Blog. That’s this coming Friday through Monday. The National Audubon Society is asking people to take 15 minutes on one or more of these days to count birds from any location. Participants should then create a checklist of the birds they spot. The Great Backyard Bird Count was created in 1998 by the ornithology lab at Cornell University.
Last year almost 150,000 checklists were created from more than 100 countries, consisting of over 5,000 species of birds. Participants are also encouraged to download photos of birds to the GBBC website. There’s a photo contest, too.
According to its website, the event "will help scientists track changes in bird distribution, some of which may be traced to El Niño storms and unusual weather patterns." This will be the first Backyard Bird Count during a major El Niño event.
