Great Backyard Bird Count

I read about this bird count project last year and thought "how fun!", but did not get to it. This year, the boys and I are joining the fun.

For our first day, we sat on our back porch to observe what birds came by. Eventually, we all came out from under our shelter to get a better look. We were soaked through by the time we were done, but it was a satisfying exercise!
We spotted some coots and buffleheads in the water behind our house. In the midst of suburbia, we are blessed to have a waterway (Percolation Ponds) behind our house. At various times, we have herrings, egrets, ducks, geese, frogs, and other slimy creatures!

Fortunately, we had my husband's super sized binoculars on hand to view some of the farther away flyers.

Paul spotted two hawks (not uncommon around our house), so it was his job to decide what type they were. The wing shape decided it for him.

We have the most fun trying to figure out what type of species two little blue birds were. After looking through all of our bird books, checking the Internet, and even looking at the photos on the challenge site, we could not be sure. We went to the sound option to check a few species and we found it. The minute I clicked the correct button, the boys were all yelling "that's it!!".

Our species list for today:
Canada Goose
Bufflehead
American Kestrel
American Coot
Herring Gull
Western Scrub- Jay

The Backyard Bird Count

Comments

  1. Amy A @ Child Central StationFebruary 18, 2011 at 3:09 PM

    We've been counting today too! We only saw a couple of chickadees. A low bird day with the high winds we are having :(

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownFebruary 22, 2011 at 3:39 AM

    We usually participate in this (we were gone this year), and the kids love it!

    ReplyDelete

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