Count Your Backyard Birds This Weekend

People across North America are urged head outside this weekend, count the birds they see and report their findings over the Internet.

The eighth annual Great Backyard Bird Count takes place from Friday, Feb. 18, through Monday, Feb. 21. The National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology manages the event, one of the biggest volunteer efforts of its kind in the world, with sponsorship from Wild Birds Unlimited storeowners.

Birdwatchers of all experience levels - from absolute beginners to those with years of birding under their belts - are invited to step outside during any or all of the count days to note the highest numbers of each bird species they see. People then report their sightings over the Internet at www.birdsource.org/gbbc.

“We call it the Great Backyard Bird Count to make the point that anyone can participate,” says John Fitzpatrick, director of the Cornell lab. “But really, a ‘backyard’ can be anywhere you happen to be: a schoolyard, a local park, the balcony of a high rise apartment, a wildlife refuge.”

For more details on birds and birding in North Carolina and the Raleigh area, visit the Web sites of the North Carolina Audubon Society and the Wake Audubon Society.