info@naturecanada.ca 
In 2015, nearly 150,000 individual checklists were submitted that documented over 18 million birds observed during the 4 day long Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). This citizen science initiative is a great way to watch birds at your feeders, keep track of what you see, and contribute to our knowledge on the distribution and abundance of birds. In 2016, the GBBC runs from February 12 through 15. Participating is fun, simple and easy so get the whole family involved! Here’s how it works: All you need to do is count the number of individuals of each species you see during a single counting session, and submit a checklist for each counting session. A counting session can take 5 minutes or… read more →
I’m a senior at St. Peters High School in Orleans, Ontario. I was looking for a new way to earn community service hours for my HS diploma and came across this event. I thought, ‘I look out my window and walk or drive through my neighborhood everyday; so this would be a neat thing to do’. I was surprised at how few birds I saw. Maybe because it’s the winter, maybe the area I live in? I live in a residential area, with schools, parks etc and trees all around, but I just didn’t see that many when I was looking. The ones I did see, a blue jay, an American kestrel, some black crows and wild turkeys (not in… read more →