Great Backyard Bird Count - Part Deux

Ok folks. Two days left on the Great Backyard Bird Count. Time to kick it into high gear. Most of the country (according to the plot map on the GBBC site) looks a nice pretty red; that is, lots of submissions. GOOD JOB!

I walked outside this morning and the day is overcast. For me, that means it may be a bit “squinty” out there until the clouds clear out. I snapped the fine picture above of a mourning dove just before its mate showed up and they started preening. Sadly, the follow-up photos were rather blah because the sky is completely blown out right now.

Mourning doves are a pretty common site around most parts, and easily spotted. They have a light brown to buff-colored overall appearance with black spots on their wings, a dusty blue eye ring surrounding a jet black eyeball, pink feet and dark beak. They do a lot of ground feeding, especially around my place, because my bird feeders aren’t large enough to support them.

Check out some more neat facts on these and other birds at the All About Birds website.

The Great Backyard Bird Count

A dear friend of mine (whom I’ve been known to call Mom from time to time) recently gave me the latest issue of Birds & Blooms. This reminded me that a yearly event I like to participate in is almost upon us. The Great Backyard Bird Count is just two weeks away! What is the GBBC you ask? Well, it’s a joint project between the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Audubon Society and Bird Studies Canada to create a “map” of bird migration patterns and population sizes, and helps answer questions like how the climate influences migration and how disease and the changing landscape affect populations. You can count birds for as little as 5 minutes or all day long. You submit your counts online, and don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own window unless you’re the adventuresome type.

Counting is fun, easy and is something you can do with your kids! Amy and I have participated a number of times now and look forward to it every year.

To find out more, please visit The Great Backyard Bird Count website.