The Great Backyard Bird Count
Isometimes envy other species that hibernate in winter. I don’t like cold, windy, icy conditions, and neither do most of the birds that breed here during the warm season but escape to warmer climes in winter.
With fewer species to observe, I get lazy about getting out to look for the few that do overwinter in our area. That means I also submit fewer checklists, with fewer species on them, to eBird, the largest bird-monitoring database in the world. I do send occasional lists with “incidental” sightings of just one or two species, such as when the 70-plus American robins that showed up for a couple of days to forage here on windy Briar Rridge.
I looked forward to sharpening up my meager birding skills in the annual Great Backyard Bird Count (birdcount. org), now in its 25th year, on Feb. 18-21 (see sidebar for more on the GBBC). Having participated in past years, I knew that the count would help me get back into the birding groove.
Participants in the count are supposed to observe birds for at least 15 minutes each day and submit the results to eBird. I had planned to monitor the property where I’m staying. It has a big yard and extensive forest edge, which usually makes for good birding.
I also had gotten permission from the owners of an adjoining property to count there.
Unfortunately, most of the weekend was not only cold but windy, which makes for lousy birding. Most birds take shelter and stay quiet in such conditions — why waste precious energy vocalizing when other birds you’re trying to communicate with can’t hear you?
When I went out early Friday morning, I was daunted by the high winds, which persisted all day. In a few brief forays out to walk the dog, I saw and heard no birds. I nally spent 15 minutes observing from the deck of the cabin I’m living in, which o ers a good view to see birds from yards to the forest crown. But, for the rst time ever, I turned in a checklist with zero observations.
Although the wind died down on Saturday, the temperature still hovered around freezing. A er spending an hour in the smaller yard at the neighbors’, I led a checklist with 12 species and 29 individual birds — not bad for that time of year and certainly better than the day before.
The freezing temps persisted on Sunday, with occasional wind gusts. Spending an hour walking about a half mile around the property where I’m staying, I saw only nine species and 21 individual birds. I had planned to go count again in the a ernoon, but I was chilled to the bone by the time I got back to the cabin. I also felt like I was coming down with a cold, so decided to crank up the wood stove and stay inside the rest of the day.
On Monday, the last day of the count, the wind nally subsided and temps were rising, making it a lovely, springlike day. Birds were ying around everywhere and chattering away like they do on the spring mornings I longed for. I grabbed my binoculars and walked my circuit again, then sat on the deck, spending a total of almost two hours observing and ling a checklist with 13 species and 30 individual birds. Later that a ernoon, I spotted two wild turkey toms, so I led an “incidental” checklist just for them.
In total, I counted 22 species: wild turkey, mourning dove, eastern phoebe, downy woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker, pileated woodpecker, blue jay, American crow, common raven, Carolina chickadee, tu ed titmouse, ruby-crowned kinglet, white-breasted nuthatch, eastern bluebird, purple nch, American gold nch,