Get Ready for the Great Backyard Bird Count!

This week-end, Friday through Monday, marks the annual Great Backyard Bird Count, sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society. You can contribute by watching birds in your backyard for as little as 15 minutes during one day of the count.

Last year, birdwatchers in Canada and the United States submitted more than 97,200 checklists and saw more than 602 different species of birds. The collected data is used by scientists to track migration patterns and spot trends in bird populations. In 2010, the American Robin was the bird most commonly sighted; the Red-billed Tropicbird made it onto the list for the first time.

Here's everything you need to know about how to participate. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has an online bird guide with descriptions of 585 birds - including pictures and bird calls. If you are new to birding, you might want to start with the 51 most common bird species sighted in North America. You can also search for a birding walk or workshop in your area.

Happy birdwatching!

Get ready for the Great Backyard Bird Count!

Great Blue Heron
2009 Great Backyard Bird Count
Photo credit: Marianne DiAntonio, FL

If you live in North America, mark your calendars! It's almost time for the 13th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, sponsored by the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Held in February, this year's count will occur from February 12-15, 2010.

Want to participate? It's easy! You need to count birds for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the survey and then enter your data online. You can download a tally sheet for birds in your geographic area here and look for special GBBC events near your home. There's even a flickr group where you can upload your bird photos taken during the count. And if you are snapping pics, be sure to participate in this year's photo contest (you can win prizes!).

Get ready to identify birds by taking this sound quiz (love the title, "Guess Who's Squawkin'!") and visiting the online bird guide from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, with profiles of over 550 species. And don't worry if, like me, you can't identify every bird that you spot during your count. There's a special box to check on the survey if that's the case. Be sure to download a participation certificate (this is a .pdf file) after you've completed your count!

Project BudBurst

Has the dreary winter weather got you down? Let's plan for a fun way to celebrate spring! If you're in the U.S.**, join Project BudBurst and record your observations about the yearly stages, or phenophases, of select plants in your area. Choose from one of these 75 plants to study. You can track things like the earliest date you see leaves, flowers, or fruits and then report your data online. (** Not in the U.S.? You can still have fun predicting the timing of next spring's phenophases and recording your observations.)

Dr. Kayri Havens, Lead Botanist, and Dr. Paul Alaback, Lead Science Advisor, are keeping a Project BudBurst blog to accompany the website. I thought this blog snippet from Dr. Kay covered the objectives of Project BudBurst quite nicely:

"Thanks to all of you who are watching plants and submitting your observations! These data are helping us get a much clearer picture about how plants are responding to different climates around the U.S. This will help us predict how plants will respond to a changing climate."

At Project BudBurst, you can learn more about phenology, the science behind this study, download teaching materials about plants and plant identification guides, browse the map of recent observations, and more! And be sure to upload your plant photos to the Project BudBurst Flickr photo pool.

Hunting (and hugging) ancient trees

This wild olive tree from Italy is said to be 3800 years old!

Need a new family-friendly outdoor activity? How about an Ancient Tree Hunt?

If you live in the UK, join the Woodland Trust, "the UK's leading woodland conservation charity," in trying to locate and map "all the fat, old trees across the UK." Over 25,000 trees have been recorded since 2004. You can search for recorded trees by factors like location (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, etc.), species, and age.

Want to find your own tree to record? Ancient Tree Hunt provides these tips for getting started as you hunt "new" trees to discover. Keep in mind that Ancient Tree Hunt does not classify a tree's age by calendar years, but instead by its life stage. A tree must be old compared to others of its kind and in its final stage of life to merit ancient tree status (some younger trees can be listed as notable or veteran).

I found this interesting -- old trees are generally not the tallest. Ancient trees are commonly wizened and shrunken, much like very old people. As expected, though, old trees do have thick trunks. I love this about Ancient Tree Hunt: they suggest that you measure your trees by hugging them. I'm sure this is for practical reasons, but it seems awfully sweet to me. What better way to honor an ancient tree than by giving it a hug?

"The fattest oak tree in Britain would take about nine adults to hug it, finger tip to finger tip."

-- Ancient Tree Hunt website

I wonder if there's an ancient tree hunt in the US? I'll have to look into it ... and I'll keep you posted! In the meantime, I'll have to settle for visiting Ancient Tree Hunt to send tree-themed e-cards and set up a new desktop calendar for my laptop.


Photo credit: Babele Dunnit through a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License via Flickr.

Website of the Week: FrogWatch USA™

Do you like frogs? Enjoy studying wildlife? Then join FrogWatch USA™, "a Citizen Science Monitoring Program" currently hosted through the National Wildlife Federation but soon to be part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Frogwatching season generally runs February through August. Once you learn how to frogwatch and register your study site (hey, I'm thinking maybe I could register my backyard next year!), you gather your frogwatching materials, record your data (weather conditions and frog calls) and submit it on a regular basis to FrogWatch USA™.

You will be helping scientists to figure out why amphibian populations are declining. After scientists identify some of the problems facing frogs, they can work on solutions to help save them. At the same time, you will get more in touch with nature through your study site. And you will learn to identify frogs from their calls.

I had no idea that frog calls were so diverse! eNature has a great page with frog and toad calls. I couldn't help myself - I started hitting all of the "listen" buttons at once. Soon, a whole symphony of voices filled my living room. It is amazing how the calls are so different. I can understand why it might be easier to identify a frog by sound than by sight.

If you are not in the United States, you still should be able to join a frogwatch in your area. For example, FrogWatch Saskatchewan is looking for volunteers, and check out Frog Atlas Australia.

Happy frogwatching!


Photo credit: Topato through a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Website of the Week: North American Moths Backyard Inventory

If you've read my previous posts, you know that Kerm and I have a soft spot for caterpillars. So, as I was drifting about the Internet today, I was pleased to find a new blog devoted to moths.

The North American Moths Backyard Inventory , or NAMBI, aims to coordinate citizen scientist observations and photographs about the habitat and range of moths. If you choose to participate, your data may be included in an upcoming Peterson's Field Guide to the Moths of Northeastern North America.

New to studying moths? NAMBI has that covered too: you can find books and tips to help you learn to identify moths. And if you enjoy writing about your nocturnal moth-chasing adventures, consider contributing to The Moth and Me blog carnival!