Will a Red-bellied Woodpecker be among the birds on your count list? (photo by Brad Imhoff)

Join the excitement and the fun of the biggest winter birding event, the Great Backyard Birding Count (GBBC) during the President’s Day weekend, February 18 thru 21. It’s not only personally rewarding but it provides a wealth of important information cross-country and around the world about the distribution and relative abundance of bird species at the peak of the winter season. Although the name of this event implies a backyard focus, you can plan to count birds anywhere you choose, and you can choose a number of locations, including your backyard feeding station, to count all the birds you see in 15 minutes or more. You can even share the favorite photos you take!

The GBBC has become a global experience, with birders from throughout the world participating in remarkable numbers, and tallying a total of 6,572 species of birds last year in 184 countries! To view information from last year’s count, you can refer to Top subregions - World - Great Backyard Bird Count (ebird.org) This popular project, celebrating its 25th year, is sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Birds Canada, and the National Audubon Society.

To learn about how to get started, refer to How to Participate – Great Backyard Bird Count and to get more helpful information ahead of the big GBBC weekend, you can register for the webinar on February 16 at 1pm CST at Webinar Registration - Zoom