09
Feb 2010
Here in Maine, that could be the Great Dooryard Bird Count — but we will save the dooryard for another post. 
The Great Backyard Bird Count is coming soon. The next count will be February 12 — 15, 2010.
What is the Great Backyard Bird Count? The website of the same name, tells us that it is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts. 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. We’ll be adding updated GBBC materials for the next count as they become available.
Last year was my first year at this count and I found it enjoyable. Coppertop, my friend at My Maine Backyard Treasures, suggested that I might enjoy it and she was right!! I get quite a few birds around here but not a lot of different kinds but they are still fun to watch. This year, I have a new camera and hopefully will get some good photo’s.
The GBBC website has all the information that you will need to become a counter. They also have buttons for your web sites, a printable poster, a kids page, and a photo contest.
What do you need to do? Click HERE to go directly to the “How Do You Participate” page for instruction. Then get out your binoculars and get ready to count. Get the whole family involved. This is a wonderful way to interest the kids in birding. Have fun and happy counting!!
12
Feb 2009
Both my friend and my daughter-in-law have reminded me that the Great Backyard Bird Count is coming right up. Beginning tomorrow, February 13 and through February 16, bird lovers throughout the US will be checking out their backyards, parks, lakes an
d other area’s to count all the birds that they see. During this annual four-day event, bird watchers of all ages will be counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of bird types and where they across the continent.
Participation is easy and it’s free. To make it even easier, you can download a checklist of the birds that may be in your area by clicking here . Just put in your zipcode or town, hit the “go” button and you will receive a list of birds common to your area in February. Then just find fifteen minutes from February 13-16 and count the birds that you observe. You can count and record your results for a longer period of time and at anytime during those four days. When you are done counting, just click HERE and enter your results. That’s all there is to it!
There is a lot more information about the bird count on the GBBC website. This is a wonderful site with a great “Learn About Birds” section. There’s photo’s, video’s and even a “GBBC For Kids” section. The site explains, in great detail, the importance of the annual bird counts. There is even a place that YOU can upload your bird photo’s and have them entered in the 2009 photo contest.
I noticed that Maine was nowhere to be found on the “Top Ten Lists For 2008“. Let’s get counting and get Maine on one of those top ten lists for 2009. Show folks that Maine has lots of birds and many species in February. Have Fun!
28
Jan 2009
Remember that you can click on any photo to enlarge it.
The wind is blowin’…the snow is snowin’… That’s how that old song goes and it is sure true today. We are experiencing what folks from Maine fondly (okay, maybe not always fondly) call a “nor’easter”! Looks like most of the state will get 10″ to 15″ of snow by the time this storm blows by.
But wait…doesn’t the sighting of a robin tell us that spring has sprung?! …that winter is bidding us farewell?! Well then, spring must be here—or at least it is spring in Lisbon, Maine. Our daughter sent me these photo’s on January 26th. Night-time temperatures were well below zero and daytime wasn’t much warmer. But here you have it…robins in Maine in the middle of winter.
After doing some research, I found that wildlife biologists and birdwatchers say that robins are fairly common winter residents in Maine, especially along the coastal regions. It seems that robins are really short-distance migrants when they can get away with it. They lack the compulsion to fly far south each fall, despite the fact that everyone thinks that they fly south. Who knew that robins are opportunists and not all that ambitious.
In the winter months, robins are likely to stay in large flocks where there is an abundance of fruit. They seek crabapples, mountain ash and any leftover berries that they can find. People plant ornamental shrubs that also produce fruit for all birds and to help robins survive.
Robins can survive for several days if inclement weather prevents them from feeding because they carry fat reserves on their bodies. However, they may go further south if an ice storm or blizzard prevents them from finding food. 
Some of the robins that are seen in Maine have come south from northern Canada. Canadian robins are bigger and darker than the birds that we normally see here in Maine (these robins do appear to be both larger and darker). I guess that Maine may be balmy compared to northern Canada!
There you have it. If you live in Maine and see a robin in your yard in January, don’t put your long johns away quite yet! Spring is just 51 days away.
