It’s a Birdy Time of Year!

Photo: Camilla Cerea/Audubon

Birds are already returning to Long Island and beginning to build nests.  And today, February 18, is the first day of the Audubon Society’s Great Backyard Bird Count, one of the largest and most important citizen science projects in the world.  It’s also fun!  The GBBC, as it’s known, takes place Feb. 18-22, and you can spend as little as 15 minutes, or you can do it for hours and days.  It all adds up to data that scientists can use to gauge bird populations around the world.  You can take part if you’re not an expert or even a birder at all.  It’s easy, it’s fun, and you’ll contribute to important conservation programs.

Click below to go to the National Audubon site for more information and to register.

Also, speaking of birds, this page at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources site shows some common birds, most of which can be found on Long Island as well as Minnesota.  What’s fun is that when you click on a bird, you’ll hear that bird’s song.  It’s an easy way to learn to recognize some common bird songs.