Counting Birds and Courting Crows
The study that alerted us to the loss of three billion birds in North America relied in part on data from citizen scientists. Not to be outdone, you and I will have a chance to do our own citizen science-ing this weekend.
February 18 - 21, 2022 will mark the 25th anniversary of the Great Backyard Bird Count. This is a joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the National Audubon Society and Birds Canada. (For context, several of the authors of the three-billion-bird study are based at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.) Apparently, 300,000 people participated in GBBC last year. Were any of you among them? If so, we’d like to hear about it. Chime in through the comments!
This will be a new experience for me but it sounds like a fun way to get a better understanding of my environmental surroundings.
Here’s how it works: You pick a time and a place over the presidents day weekend to sit outside for a minimum of 15 minutes and count any birds you see. Then you share your observations online. Sounds doable, right?
I’m not an experienced birder, so I’ll be using the Merlin Bird ID app to help me identify any species I see and then submit them. People who actually know what they’re doing are welcome to use the eBird app. I think there’s a way to submit via computer, too.
You can find more information about GBBC here. Also, there’s a free webinar this Wednesday at 2pm EST for those who’d like some extra guidance.
I hope you’ll participate. If you do, please let us know how it goes. Whether you score a Steller’s sea eagle or just a bunch of little brown jobs, it all counts!
I’d like to think that 12 months from now, once I’ve planted more natives, my backyard count will be higher and more diverse than this year’s. A great tool for this purpose is the National Audubon Society’s native plant database. It’s similar to the National Wildlife Federation plant finder, which I’ve recommended in the past, in that you plug in your zip code and it spits out lists of plants that are native to your area. The twist with the Audubon site is that, for each plant, it will tell you what birds it attracts. Also, you can reverse the lens: tell the site what kinds of birds you want to attract, and it will advise you the plants to choose.
One of the species I would most like to see in my yard is crows. I know, they’re not not nearly as cute as bluebirds, but jeez, they’re smart. Also mysterious. The collective noun for a group of crows is a “murder,” after all. I used to spend a fair amount of time in Moscow, where ravens the size of witch hats strut the plazas like so many goth divas. This inspired me to read In the Company of Crows and Ravens, by John Mazluff and Tony Angell, where I learned that crows are intelligent enough to use a series of tools to solve a problem (the “problem” usually being how to get at a tasty snack). They also remember human faces. It’s not a good idea to get on a crow’s shit list because a) they hold a grudge and b) they’ll tell their children and grandchildren about you. You may face generations of corvid disdain and harassment. On the other hand, there’s this amazing story about a “murder” in Washington state that bestowed upon a little girl a whole collection of gifts: coins, bits of wire, bottle caps, buttons, buckles, bracelet charms, a light bulb – anything shiny that could fit in their beaks. They were apparently thanking her for feeding them. Can you even?
And then there’s the singing:
Given my life goal of befriending a crow, I clicked “crows and jays” on the Audubon site and it gave me 14 pages of recommended trees, shrubs and perennials. Seems I’ve got my work cut out for me.
Happy counting this weekend!
Love the story about the crows leaving gifts! Amazing!!
I’ve participated for the past few years. It is a great way to become aware of what bird is in your back yard. Lucky for us we do have crows. Love the video. They are so smart!