Join us on Friday, February 14 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. for a joint Project FeederWatch and 27th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count Day! Registration is not required and participation is free.

The Great Backyard Bird Count is a special event when people around the world come together to observe, count and record birds seen during February 14-17, 2024.  It is a joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Audubon Society, and Birds Canada and is made possible in part by founding sponsor Wild Birds Unlimited. The Great Backyard Bird Count uses eBird, one of the world’s largest nature databases, to track and count birds during this four-day community science event. You can watch observations roll in from around the world, and these observations help scientists better understand global bird populations before one of their annual migrations. Spend time in your favorite outdoor places watching and counting as many birds as you can find and then reporting them on eBird for this special 4-day global event! Whether you’re a budding birdwatcher or a bird-count veteran, you can use your ID skills to help scientists protect birds and the places they need. Count birds visiting Aullwood's feeders as well as any you see hiking on our trails, or count birds anywhere you’d like anytime during this timeframe. Learn more about the GBBC at https://www.audubon.org/conservation/about-great-backyard-bird-count.

Project FeederWatch is a winter-long survey of birds seen at feeders, coordinated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada. Feeder watchers periodically count the birds they see from November through March and submit the data to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. These observations helps scientists better understand our winter bird populations as well as long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance. Data from Project FeederWatch helps scientists track broad-scale movements of winter bird populations and long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance. FeederWatch results are regularly published in scientific journals and are shared with ornithologists and bird lovers nationwide. 

Whether you are a beginner or very knowledgeable about birds, everyone is welcome to join us for this great opportunity to start birdwatching or fine-tune your bird ID skills. Anyone interested in birds can participate and is invited to join us in Aullwood’s bird watching room at the Marie S. Aull Education Center from 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM for this relaxing morning of counting birds and drinking coffee. No preregistration is required. You’ll stay warm and cozy inside while watching, identifying, and counting birds, and people of all birding skill levels and backgrounds are welcome, including children, families, individuals, retirees and those with accessibility issues. This important community science project is made possible through the tremendous volunteer leadership of Gary and Carolyn Harpel and Chris Birch. Please contact Aullwood Environmental Educator Sam Romeo at sam.romeo@audubon.org if you have additional questions. Visit https://aullwood.audubon.org/feederwatch to learn more and find all of this year's FeederWatch dates at Aullwood. We'll see you here!

[Male Cardinal 2018 Photo: Mike Mushala, used by permission]