This Friday, Feb. 15, begins the annual four-day event known as The Great Backyard Bird Count, where both expert ornithologists and regular goons like you and I get the chance to create a snapshot of wild-bird distribution across the continent.
The GBBC is co-sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society. Links to the event’s site can be found at the Audubon Society’s local arm, the Elisha Mitchell chapter.
So get out your field guide (GBBC also offers a handy online bird tutorial) and keep your eyes peeled for whatever birds happen to be in your backyard — or wherever you choose to look for them — be they starlings or nuthatches. It’s almost time for the big show.
— Kent Priestley, staff writer
