The Great Backyard Bird Count 2021

 

Get your bird feeders ready, friends!

This weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count.  And with frigid temperatures gripping the country, this is the perfect time to attract birds to your backyard while helping them survive the winter weather... AND you can use it as a teachable moment as your family (or children) become citizen scientists!

For years, my family has participated in the GBBC. We started when my kids were little. It was a fabulous way to nurture their fascination with wildlife AND develop their scientific skills. Plus, we loved that we were able to participate in a citizen science project. 

What is Citizen Science?

Citizen Science Projects are projects in which scientific research is done, in whole or in part, by amateur (or nonprofessional) scientists. Sometimes it's described as "public participation in scientific research." Scientists rely on the public and its location world wide or in specific areas to observer and send in raw data that the scientists later analyze and interpret to make future predictions.

Counting birds is SO EASY!

Starting tomorrow, Friday, all you have to do is sign up to count the birds you see at your bird feeders (or you may go to a local park/zoo/outdoor area). You simply record what you see and then submit the information to the GBBC.

The GBBC runs from Friday, February 12th through Monday, February 15th.

How to identify birds

If you are a first-time birdwatcher, you can get the free Merlin ID app for your Apple or Android smartphone to help you ID the birds in your backyard. It easily helps you identify birds through a series of guided questions. The app can now identify 6,000 species found on six continents!

So enjoy the weekend, stay warm, and keep your kids busy bird watching!

Great Backyard Bird Count

Friends! Want to take part in a citizen science project? Participate THIS WEEKEND in the Great Backyard Bird Count!

A citizen science project is an activity hosted or sponsored by organizations that let non-scientists (anyone!) help contribute to scientific research by simply participating. The Great Backyard Bird Count is exactly that and it's been happening for the last 23 years.

This year, the GBBC starts on Friday, February 14th and runs through Monday the 17th. It's EASY to do and a WONDERFUL teaching opportunity for all children... and their parents!

All you have to do is go outside - or look out your window! - and count the number of birds that you see during a 15-minute time frame. Write it down and then submit your observations online!

All the data is then sorted and analyzed by the ornithologists (scientists) over at Cornell University and other institutions. An alarm went out across the world last year when a new study revealed that there are 2.9 BILLION less birds today than there was 50 years ago. Which is why projects like this one are so important now.

You can count in your own backyard, go to a park/zoo/lake/mountain top/WHEREVER!

Not sure what kind of bird it is that you're looking at? No problem! Download the Merlin Bird ID app. It's FREE and easily helps you identify birds through a series of guided questions. It can identify 3,000 species found on three continents.

Here's an awesome video to give you a better idea about the bird count...


We used to participate every year when my older kids were younger, but haven't done so since moving back to Texas. I'm excited to get us out and counting again this year!

Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Education Website

Do you have a young conservationist in your home? Or a bird lover? Or are you trying to incorporate more lessons in your classroom that talk about nature, conservation, and citizen science projects?

Then Cornell Lab of Ornithology's education website needs to be on your go-to list.

It is one of the best avian education sites for students. I've been using their citizen science projects for years with my kids. And I recently started following their Facebook page.  

Sot let me tell you about the resources they offer.

Bird Academy

Bird Academy is the section of their site that offers online, interactive learning courses, videos, and games. Registration is free, but not all the courses are. 

ONLINE COURSES:

I haven't actually used this section, so all of this information is based on what I read on the website. But it looks like there's a nice selection of online courses, including:

• eBird Essentials (FREE)
• Understanding Bird Behavior
• Feeder Birds: Identification and Behavior (of the birds that come to your backyard bird feeder)
• How to Identify Bird Songs
• Nature Journaling and Field Sketching
• and more...

You can complete these courses at your own pace. I think that most of them come with recorded lectures and learning games. 

VIDEOS:

These are awesome! This section has 175 videos about birds that are found around the world. It's easy to filter them by one or more of the 12 topics listed in the sidebar. These topics include migration, anatomy, habitat, behavior, etc. They are fascinating looks into the lives of birds with experts who explain behavior, 

Here are two examples:

LEARNING GAMES:

I love these so much! I'm not sure that I would call all of them games, though. Some are just really interactive powerpoints and videos. Most are geared for kids 13 and older, but there are some for younger children. They teach kids about bird anatomy, songs, behavior, and more. My favorite is All About Feathers and the section on Meet a Feather Scientist. FASCINATING!!

K-12 Education

This section is the jackpot for educators! And for those of you wondering, yes, they have an area just for Spanish-speakers.

It's also divided up into different areas:

LESSONS & ACTIVITIES

Here is where you'll find everything from free curricula to all-inclusive kits for K - 12 students. They've made it easier for you to find what you need by dividing the grades up into the following:

• K - 2
• 3 - 5
• 6 - 8
• 9 - 12

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

This part of the site is just for teachers. Here's where you'll find free webinars, online courses, educator retreats, credit options and where you can find trainers in your area.

My son a few years ago participating in Project FeederWatch, a citizen science project.

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

This area is full of stories about citizen science, habitat improvements, bird investigations, and more. You'll discover what incredible educators like you are doing around the world. You can even share your own story.

BirdSleuth Investigator

The latest issue of the student magazine, BirdSleuth Investigator, is available as a free download! I just downloaded it myself and it is such a great resource for kids. Written and illustrated by kids around the country, this magazine shares their research projects that are the result of their burning curiosity. You can also find out how your students can get their work published in next year's issue.

The digital version is free, although you can purchase a hard copy in the store.

SHOP

Of course, sometimes as educators, we need materials that we can hold in our hands to reference or use to teach. You can find supplemental materials like these in their online shop.

Resources for Teaching Children About the Great American Eclipse

It seems as if the whole country is preparing for the celestial event happening on August 21st. Is your family or classroom thinking about observing the upcoming solar eclipse? It's being described as the "Great American Eclipse" since it will be visible in totality only within a band across the entire contiguous United States. Everyone in the country will be able to see at least a partial eclipse, but only those within the path of totality will see the full eclipse.

This is a wonderful opportunity for children across the country to learn about eclipses and especially about the sun and its corona. If you are looking for resources to help you teach your students or children about this event, I've compiled a list of some excellent sites and tools that you can use.

Enjoy!


This post contains affiliate links.

Lesson Plans

• NASA Total Eclipse website - This is seriously my favorite resource! From activities to lesson plans to citizen science, NASA has compiled EVERYTHING you need to study and prepare for not only the Great American Eclipse but any eclipse. You can even live stream the event safely from your computer - so if you aren't in the path of totality, you can still view the complete solar eclipse.
  They also have a section created specifically for HOMESCHOOLERS with family activities and free downloads.
  AND the best part is that they have a whole section available in Spanish, including a video interview with Dr. Yari Collado-Vega, a Space Weather Forecaster. (You can learn more about her here.)
• PBS Learning Media has also put together a bunch of resources for educators and students to learn about eclipses. This page is a compilation of materials you can use to accompany their Teacher Toolkit.
• BrainPOP Educators - A short list of their eclipse resources.

Articles

• Preparing for the August 2017 Total Solar Eclipse (NASA)
• Best Places to View the 2017 Eclipse (greatamericaneclipse.com)
• Total Solar Eclipse 2017: When, Where and How to See It (Safely) (Space.com)
• Weird Things Happen with a Total Solar Eclipse***(super cool info from Astro Maven Blog!)

Glasses

Remember! NEVER look at the sun directly - even during an eclipse! Use solar eclipse viewing glasses to protect your eyes. Here are some possible glasses available via Amazon. But remember to order them soon as there is no guarantee there will be any available in the weeks leading up to the eclipse!

Books

Apps

• Total Solar Eclipse - Available for iOS and Android; Gives you access to five simultaneous video streams, including live coverage in Spanish hosted by Exploratorium educators.

Commemorative T-shirts

Are you planning to watch the eclipse as a family? Or maybe your classroom is headed outside to watch. Either way, check out these awesome tees...

The 2016 Great Backyard Bird Count

If you are looking for something else to do this weekend (besides celebrating Valentine's Day, that is), I've got a good one for you! And it doesn't matter where you live in the world.

This weekend is the 19th annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). This event was the first online citizen-science project to collect data on wild birds and to display results in near real-time. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people just like you and me walk outside and count birds. You can count the number of birds you see out your window, in your backyard, at your school, at the park, in the country, at a lake, or wherever you want for as long as you want!

It all starts tomorrow. All you have to do is tally the numbers and kinds of birds you see for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the count, Friday through Monday, February 12-15, 2016. Then upload your information to the GBBC's website. You'll have to create a free account, if you don't already have one like us. But this account gives your family or classroom access to other fun citizen science projects that are free.

Citizen science projects are ones in which project leaders rely on global citizens to volunteer a few minutes of their time observing or participating in activities that meaningfully contribute to scientific research.

Last year, the GBBC had people in more than 100 countries counted 5,090 species of birds on more than 147,000 checklists. If you have a budding photographer on your hands, you can even share your bird photos by entering the photo contest.

Why do we need to count birds?

We've all seen the dramatic shift in weather patterns on our planet in recent years. But scientists don't exactly know how these changes are affecting other species. The GBBC helps scientists at Cornell University learn about the changes in populations and migrating habits of bird species around the world.

Our home in the country is a haven for songbirds all year long. The photo at the top of this post is one I took at this time last year of an Eastern Towhee visiting our bird feeder. Here are some other birds that we see outside our windows...

(left to right) Tufted Titmouse, White-Throated Sparrow, and a Chickadee

If you are worried you won't be able to identify the birds you see, here's some great news: You can use the online bird ID guides on the GBBC website or you can download a bird ID app to your phone or tablet. I love the Merlin Bird app! It makes identifying birds super easy. And it is available for iOS or Android.

We've done this before and had tons of fun. We'll be doing it again this weekend. I hope that you'll join us!