One, Two, Three,…

One. One female cardinal.

One, two. Two female cardinals.

One, two, three. One male cardinal plus two white throated sparrows.

One, two, three, four. One female red bellied woodpecker plus one male cardinal plus two female cardinals, see the tail feathers at the top of the image.

One, two, three, four, five. One male house finch plus one female house finch, plus three goldfinches.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve…. wait a minute, did I count that one already? Hold still, will ya? Uncountable Cedar Waxwings from February 2009. Click to read about their visit that unforgettable day here-Thirsty Throngs.

The counting begins today. It is as easy as one, two, three. Click here to visit the website of The Great Backyard Bird Count that will be taking place from today through Monday, February 12-15, 2010. This is our third year to participate and we would like for everyone that can to join in. Keeping track of the backyard birds is important business and they need our help to do it. Set aside an hour that is convenient for you to count the birds you see, either at home or in a public space. It helps to print out the bird list for your zip code so you know what to look for. There are guidelines and suggestions on the site. Make it a family adventure, the more eyes counting the better. You keep track of the most of any type of bird that you can see at one time so you don’t count the same one over and over. Having a reference book of birds helps. The Petersen Field Guide to Eastern Birds is what we use, although we rarely see any new birds at the feeders in our back gardens. We do like to count from inside the house, for it is often, well, every single time! quite cold on these days. Fill the feeders and scatter seed on the ground before you begin timing for the maximum number of visitors during your count. Then get those pens and pencils ready! Having it over four days time allows you to pick the best time for viewing according to your schedule. We have plans for the weekend, so will be counting today. Our numbers will be posted here once they have been tabulated and submitted online.

Since we mentioned that we rarely see any new birds, a new to us bird showed up. We think it might be a yellow warbler, but any ideas from the more experienced birders are welcome. Lisa? Added: A very big thank you to Randy for giving the ID of Pine Warbler to our little guest. We do have a stand of mature pines so it makes sense!
It is easy peasy and fun to count the birds and it will give you a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that you are helping with a very important task. So do it, for the birds. Before they are…

…Going, going, gone!

UPDATE
The count has been done. We decided to go ahead and begin the count because it started snowing. The snow covers the seed on the ground quickly and makes it more difficult for the birds to find it. We did scatter some under the table on the deck, but some birds are too shy and will not come that close to the house. As you can see from the above photo, Hazel helped me count. We did have a new to us bird too, a yellow rumped warbler, two of them. The little yellow pine warbler showed up at the suet feeder as well. This year’s count was a roaring success! Do try to find the time to participate. You can do four fifteen minute intervals over four days. Surely anyone can find that amount of time for a good cause. Here is the tally at the Fairegarden on February 12 from 12:30 PM to 1:10 PM:

2 Mourning Doves
2 Red-bellied Woodpeckers
2 Downy Woodpeckers
3 Blue Jays
2 Carolina Chickadees
1 Tufted Titmouse
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
2 Carolina Wrens
1 Northern Mockingbird
2 Yellow-rumped Warblers
1 Pine Warbler
9 White-throated Sparrows
10 Northern Cardinals
4 House Finches
5 American Goldfinches
Added: 22 Wild Turkeys

Frances