This weekend take part in the 16th annual Great Backyard Bird count!

For the first time the bird count is going global. Join bird enthusiasts form around the world Friday February 15 through Monday February 18. Anyone from beginners to experts is invited to participate. Count birds at a location near you for as little as 15min and submit your checklist online.

The Great Backyard Bird Count is a citizen science project. Through public participation this project is able to collect data on a scale that no single study could hope to. The information collected during this count will give a snapshot of bird populations across the globe. Compiling data across years will help scientists investigate far-reaching questions. Check out the highlights from the 2012 count.

Are you participating in this year’s GBBC in Ottawa? Nature Canada wants to know!

E-mail amacdonald@naturecanada.ca with the subject line “GBBC”, tweet us @NatureCanadaPAs, or post on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/myNaturehood to tell us about what you see in your neighborhood.

Be sure to include the #naturehood hash-tag in the comments field when you submit your GBBC observations. That way we can collect data from Ottawa to help our local conservation efforts.

The Great Backyard Bird Count is led by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, with Canadian partner Bird Studies Canada and sponsorship from Wild Birds Unlimited.