Submitted by Hoo Ping Crane
Now is your opportunity to combat the COVID-19 blues by observing the birds in your yard and reporting them to the Great Backyard Bird Count, Friday, Feb. 12 to Monday, Feb. 15, 2021.
No need to leave the house, but you can report birds observed at any location. It only takes 15 minutes of observation, not necessarily all at one time, to have a checklist. Record your start time and the most of each species you see, then submit it to birdcount.org, Cornell University’s website, which has years of data to peruse.
No Internet access? Phone (250) 674-2518 for details and to submit your checklist(s), or get help. You can pick up an abbreviated checklist for the area at the library.
For people that think they don’t know many birds, have a look at the checklist and you might be surprised how many you do know. Anyway, you only report the species you are able to identify.
Your participation as a Citizen Scientist in the GBBC is one piece of the puzzle that helps scientists get the big picture about changes in bird populations which have staggeringly declined by nearly three billion birds since 1970 (about 600,000 times the human population of Clearwater).
So how about relaxing inside, or getting out, and counting some birds to add your piece to the puzzle.