Great Backyard Bird Count on lookout for irruptive species

Certain bird species are spending this winter in Northeast Ohio in especially high numbers, and Blackbrook Audubon Society is encouraging the public to connect with these rare visitors and record them, as well as resident birds, for the Great Backyard Bird Count Feb. 12 -15.

Common Redpolls and Evening Grosbeaks have flown to the area from Canadian latitudes, according to an Audubon news release. They are part of a group known as irruptive species.

Both of these finches visit feeders and are easy to spot, the release stated. Participants in the bird count are invited to count all bird species and individuals for at least 15 minutes on one or more days that weekend, regardless of age or birding skill level.

Instructions, apps and bird ID tips are available at www.birdcount.org.

Blackbrook Audubon noted it lists popular birding spots and links on the resources page of blackbrookaudubon.org.

Follow Blackbrook’s Facebook page for current sightings.

People can contribute to this international count by adding the irruptive species to their list before they head back north and before the annual spring migration begins, the release stated.

Blackbrook suggests participants bird safely following the current COVID-19 guidelines.

Whether counters record birds at their feeder, in a park, or any other location, submitting these numbers will enhance the snapshot of bird distribution and abundance.

This will help scientists answer questions on migration patterns, spread of diseases and the effects of weather and climate change.

When the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society launched the bird count in 1998, they created the first online citizen-science project to collect data on wild birds and display the results in near real-time, the release stated.

Birds observed locally can be compared to other reports in the region with maps on the project website during and after the count.

Last February, participants in almost 200 countries counted more than 6,900 species of birds on over 260,000 checklists, according to the release.