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After all of this rain, the birds will emerge soon to find mates and get ready for nesting. If you are fortunate to be looking ahead to a long weekend, or even if you are not, I hope you will consider taking a short break to listen to and look at the birds around you. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Audubon Society, and Birds Canada are organizing a worldwide bird count from Friday through Monday so we can learn how bird populations and migratory patterns are changing. It is a great way to explore some of the biodiversity in our own backyards and local nature preserves.

Last year more than 600,000 people from 210 countries and subregions participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count, identifying nearly 8000 species. You can see real-time results from this year here.

Participants identified a total of 7,920 species in last year’s bird count. Source: Great Backyard Bird Count 2024 results

All it takes is 15 minutes in a place where you enjoy nature, whether it is a local preserve or park, or your own backyard or patio. If lots of birds look the same to you — small, brown, and chirpy — don’t worry! This is the perfect time to learn how to identify one or two of those.

The easiest way for beginners to participate is by using the Merlin app on a smartphone. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology designed Merlin to make it easy for newbies to learn about birds. You can identify birds by taking a photo, or answering a brief set of questions, or using “Sound ID” to let Merlin tell you what it is hearing. You can can use the “Explore” function to see the most common birds in your location, and scroll through it to find ones you have spotted.

Screenshot of Merlin app
The Merlin app offers lots of ways to identify birds that you see and/or hear.

This app has helped me to distinguish some of the birds in my yard, and to notice some of the differences in bird populations when I go to different places. This past year I noticed yellow-rumped warblers in my yard for the first time. I never would have found them if it weren’t for this app.

I want to write more about biodiversity in the blog this year. We are seeing so many losses as development and a quickly changing climate make it increasingly difficult for many species to survive. This bird count is an accessible opportunity for each of us to pay attention and contribute in a small way along with hundreds of thousands of others from around the world.

You can find some tips on how to participate here, and on how to use Merlin to participate here.

I would love to hear which birds you are used to seeing, which are new to you, etc. I would be happy to share your photos too. (You can find my email in the bio.)

Here are some pictures of birds I spotted around my house earlier in the week, with some information about each in the caption.

Picture of two backyard birds, lesser goldfinches.
This is a pair of lesser goldfinches enjoying a small fountain. These birds are all over my yard. They like the hedge in back, the trees in my neighbor’s yard, and the sunflower seed in the birdfeeder. It never occurred to me that birds would drink from this short fountain, but here they are!
Picture of a backyard bird, the hermit thrush.
Here is a hermit thrush enjoying that same fountain. I didn’t know it was a hermit thrush, but I shared a picture with Merlin, and it told me what it thought, then I remembered it had said it was hearing them when I used Sound ID. My gardener also mentioned she had spotted one, so I am pretty sure that is what it is!
Picture of a backyard squirrel.
Okay, not a bird, but more evidence that this fountain is way more popular than I thought it would be. I thought it was going to be decorative. Even my dog drinks out of it.
Picture of a backyard bird, the chestnut-backed chickadee.
Here is a little chestnut-backed chickadee. Usually they are high up in the elm tree. On the day I was taking photos, though, most of the bird action was to my surprise in the narrow little side yard.
Picture of a backyard bird, the yellow-rumped warbler.
A few months ago Merlin reported hearing yellow-rumped warblers in my yard. I had never heard of those before, so I looked at the photos and read about the birds. Then I started seeing them. A yellow spot on the rump, which you can just make out in this photo, makes for pretty easy identification.
Picture of a backyard bird, the Bewick's wren.
This is a Bewick’s wren. I was very happy to see it because they made several nests in my nest boxes last year. I hope they make some more nests!
Picture of a backyard bird, the dark-eyed junco.
This is a dark-eyed junco. They like to look through leaf litter. The picture is hazy because, like most of these, it was taken through a window. The birds are much more skittish if they see me, and they don’t see me so well behind a window.
Owl pellet
This is not a bird, obviously, but it is an owl pellet, a ball of fur and bones and other undigestibles that owls spit out. My gardener found it below a large pepper tree. My gardener is always finding things that I don’t see. I think there is a lot of nature waiting to be found if only we look.

I hope that you will take a little time this weekend to look for birds in some of the places that you love, and share what you find with the Great Backyard Bird Count. And also with this blog if you care to in the comments.

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