I am getting ready to count birds now that the seasons are changing. We have so many birds at our feeders these days that it is going to be interesting to see the comparisons between last year and this year.
Here is the official video announcing and explaining the Great Backyard Bird Count!
I also found this link very helpful in learning more about feeding our backyard birds.
You may wish to make a record of the birds your family observes in your nature journal. Our family likes to look back over the years and see how our lists compare.
Here are some ideas for recordkeeping:
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| A simple list is a great place to start. Record the date, the bird species, the location. You could keep a list for each day of the GBBC and then insert it into your nature journal or add to your life list. (There is a link to this particular bird log at the bottom of this page.) |
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| I also keep a running list of birds on one of the free notebook pages from my friend Tina that she made for the Outdoor Hour Challenges. |
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| A few years ago, our family made cards for each bird we observed. The pdf for the captions can be found HERE. You can see what they looked like HERE. |
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| We also use the coloring pages from Cornell’s Backyard Feeder Coloring Book as a way to record birds we see in our backyard. I print out the table of contents and keep it for reference and as a reminder of what birds are available in the coloring book. |
Both of my bird field guides have places for you to record the birds we have observed. It is a handy place to keep your record since you will normally have your field guide on hand.
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| In the Peterson guide there is a checklist in the back of the book. It looks like the newest edition of this book(which I don’t have) has a life list in the back of the book. |
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| In the Audubon guide there is an index with circles to check off as you observe a bird. |
I am eager to count birds this weekend and will probably be able to participate on two of the days with my family.
Also I am highly recommending that you purchase the Bird Bundle from NotebookingPages.com as a great supplement to your study of birds using the Outdoor Hour Challenge. Note: These are affiliate links.
Use code discount5 to save $5 on any purchase $10 or more from the NotebookingPages.com Shop. (This does not include membership purchases.)
I’m so excited! And thank you for the reminder about those lovely bird notebook pages from notebooking pages
Wonderful ideas and very helpful links! You’ve given us many different ideas from which to track the birds we see which is great. I’m going to have my daughters take a look at the different forms and have them pick which one they prefer.
The California Quail is a beautiful bird. I’ve never seen one before. Between that bird and the acorn woodpecker you showed on the blog last week, I’m thinking that a trip to a warmer climate (and different state) might be worthwhile…just to see the birds!
and of course, I can’t help but tweeting my horn to say you can add those birds to Tweet and See at Kingdom Arrows. Thanks for the great ideas! I am going to add a place in my bird list for location where I saw them.
Were excited about this and getting ready. I posted this morning about how we are preparing!
GREAT links and pages!!!