We counted over 40 wild turkeys in the hayfield last Friday—a new record.
Warmer temperatures and lack of snow in parts of North America have set the stage for what could be a most intriguing 15th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, which runs from Friday, February 17th through Monday, February 20th.
Bird and nature fans throughout North America are invited to take part in this neat four-day event, a joint project between The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the National Audubon Society, and Bird Studies Canada (BSC) that engages bird watchers in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent.
Bird and nature fans throughout North America are invited to take part in this neat four-day event, a joint project between The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the National Audubon Society, and Bird Studies Canada (BSC) that engages bird watchers in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent.
Anyone can participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count, from novice bird watchers to experts. It's a great opportunity for families, students, and people of all ages to discover the wonders of nature in backyards, schoolyards, and local parks while making an important contribution to conservation.
It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count for as long as you like each day of the event. It's free, fun, and easy—and it helps the birds. Last year, an estimated 60,000 bird watchers submitted over 92,000 checklists online. There were 596 species observed and over 11.4 million individual birds counted.
For more information, check out the Great Backyard Bird Count website. Details on how you can participate are here, and you can read more about the GBBC here. You can learn more about birds in general at The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds website. And at WeLoveBirds.org, bird-lovers can share stories and information about birds and help protect birds from activities that harm them and their habitat.
Happy counting!
© FarmgirlFare.com, where we're fortunate to be surrounded by all sorts of birds on the farm, but my favorites are definitely the gorgeous wild geese that migrate twice a year overhead (we just saw some this morning!) and this amazing little owl that showed up one cold and windy, heartwrenching morning back in 2008 and stayed for most of the day.
Now I know where all our wild turkeys have gone - just a little south to your place. We've only seen one since hunting season, instead of the usual dozens.
ReplyDeleteJust checked out your little owl photo, but I just couldn't bring myself to read further. Thanks for the sad-story warning.
Neat, I haven't seen wild turkeys in a while. We use to see them all the time.
ReplyDeleteI forgot all about this, thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteWe seen 8 wild turkey in a corn field Tuesday evening.
Thanks for the link to the site. We have not had the wild turkeys in a bit. Last fall they came right up to the barn yard to get the corn that the cows didn't get. It was so funny to watch them try to get into the barnyard. Some would duck and go under the fence. A couple would fly over it and then some would just walk to the road and go down the road until the board fence ended and walk in by the barbed wire fence. Very funny.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you have a good count of turkeys this year. Made your rye caraway beer bread, very good. Enjoy your posts. Happy Baking. M
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun thing to be able to participate in! Thanks for the heads up about the GBBC. I went back and read the story of the screech owl and the follow-up story, thanks for sharing "real" farm life. We lost a less than a week old baby goat a couple of years ago, he was there with his mom in the evening at feeding time and the next morning he was just gone. No sign of struggle, no tracks, no nothing. I still think it was an owl.
ReplyDeleteNo wild turkeys here, but one early morning I was out with my dog and sitting so close I could have reached out and touched him, was the most beautiful red cardinal - singing his little heart out!!! I hear them all the time, but often they are hard to spot.
ReplyDeleteWe have wild Candian geese, too, and I love to see them flying in that beautiful 'V' formation. Often, I have to stop as the mama and her babies cross the street - that certainly must be an act of faith on her part!!!