Flying Colors is a sponsored column on the hobby of backyard bird feeding written by Michael Zuiker, owner of the Wild Birds Unlimited store at the Lee Harrison Shopping Center. Visit the store at 2437 N. Harrison Street or call 703-241-3988.
So, your mom wanted you to be a doctor or a lawyer. Well how about a scientist. Well you can be. We all can be!
How can I do that you ask? I am only eight years old. You can become a scientist for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology by participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC).
Each year, for the past 21 years, the Cornell Lab has been recruiting volunteer scientist to help them study the wild birds all over the world. All you need is a pen, a piece of paper and internet access, and you can help them with this study. You will need to set up an account at http://gbbc.birdcount.org.
This year the GBBC takes place from February 16-19. It’s as easy as 1-2-3.
- Find a comfy spot, grab some snacks and hang out for 15 minutes. Have a pen and paper ready and jot down what species you are seeing. You can sit and hang out longer if you like, just keep track of how long you recorded the birds.
- Keep a tally of the birds you see, if there is a large flock just try for your best estimate. Make sure to account for gender.
- Finally hop online and enter your data. Voila! You are a scientist.
You don’t have a feeder you say? No problem. You can also go out hiking or just walk your local neighborhood and keep a tally that way too. Or better yet stop on in and we will get you started on the best hobby ever.
There is no better way to start your “Year of the Bird” like helping out and being a scientist. In 2017, Great Backyard Bird Count participants in more than 100 countries counted more than 6,200 species of birds on more than 180,000 checklists.
Why do we count the birds? Scientists keep track of the birds with our help to answer many questions. How will their migration this year differ from last years? How will weather and climate change affect the bird population? Why do large numbers of winter finches show up one year but not the next?
While you are on the GBBC site, check out their tab marked “Explore Data.” Under this tab you can check out other peoples check list, who knows maybe your neighbor three blocks over has a bird different from you. You can also watch the map for live updates, and there is a tab where you can search for sounds.
Are you a skilled photographer? You can enter the 2018 photo contest located on the home page of their site. There are gifts for the winners: a squirrel proof feeder and a finch feeder are just two of the great prizes you can win!
We hope you will help the Cornell Lab this February and count the birds. We look forward to helping you find the perfect set up for your yard. Stop in our store and you can get a FREE one-pound bag of our No-Mess seed blend with any purchase.