Great Backyard Bird Count Begins Tomorrow!

Join the 13th annual Great Backyard Bird Count by tallying the birds you see at any location during February 12-15. Watch for at least 15 minutes on one or more count days, record the highest number of each species you see at any one time, and enter your checklist at birdcount.org. Put your sightings on the map and watch as counts pour in from around the United States and Canada! The count is led by the Cornell Lab, Audubon, and Canadian partner Bird Studies Canada, with sponsorship from Wild Birds Unlimited. Learn more at birdcount.org.

Sneak Peek: “We Love Birds” Community Website

The Natural Resources Defense Council and the Cornell Lab are getting ready to launch an interactive online community for bird enthusiasts at WeLoveBirds.org. We invite you to preview the site today, become a community member, and invite your friends, too. The site provides a place for conservation-minded bird watchers to connect with one another about the issues they care about. Visit WeLoveBirds.org.

Birds That Sound Like Kazoos

On an island in the Indian Ocean, recordist Jon Erickson recorded White-tailed Tropicbirds and the “kazoo operas” performed by Wedge-tailed Shearwaters. Learn more and hear these unusual sounds by visiting Round Robin, the Cornell Blog of Ornithology. For more unusual sounds, try the Herald Petrel’s “burbling spaceship” call.

Top 5 Tips for “iPhoneiscoping”

When you see a great bird, don’t miss a chance to take home a snapshot—by using your cell phone and your binoculars or scope. Charles Eldermire, manager of the Cornell Lab’s visitor center, shares some of his pics and his top tips for getting started. Go.

Watching Crows: More Than Meets the Eye

Crows are family birds, sometimes living in groups with extended family members or even “adopting” the kids of unrelated neighbors. Find out how to watch for clues throughout the seasons to tell you what their antics mean. Learn more.

Find Out What this Weird and Wonderful Bird Has in Common with Your Backyard Birds

What’s round, black-and-electric blue, bounces and snaps, and is loved by the ladies? It’s a male Superb Bird-of-Paradise doing its courtship display. No one looking at just their feathers would ever predict the bizarre and elaborate dance males in this family do to attract mates. (If your browser didn’t load the photo, view our web version—this picture is not to be missed!) Take the Cornell Lab’s online course on Courtship and Rivalry to learn just how weird these birds are—and how much they have in common with familiar ones in your own backyard. For a preview of the course, visit birds.cornell.edu/courses. The next course begins February 17.

Ornithologists’ Meeting Begins with the Question of Bird Flight

San Diego is the place for ornithologists to be this week, as a joint meeting gets underway for the Cooper Ornithological Society, American Ornithologists’ Union, and Society of Canadian Ornithologists. Living Bird editor Tim Gallagher just sent in a blog post from the scene, describing Monday’s plenary talk by the University of Montana’s Ken Dial. Over the past decade, Dial and his collaborators have proposed a surprising new theory about how birds first began to fly. Read more.

Can’t get enough bird info?

Explore www.AllAboutBirds.org.

Photo credits: Eastern Bluebird by Glenda Simmons, GBBC photo contest winner 2009; iPhoniscoped photos by Charles Eldermire; Jon Erickson recording White-tailed Tropicbirds, courtesy of Jon Erickson; American Crows by Ross Michaels; Superb Bird-of-Paradise by Edwin Scholes, III; White-crowned Sparrow in sidebar by Red-Star.

A Valentine’s Gift for Bird Lovers

Do you know someone who loves birds? Send a Valentine’s present that enriches their enjoyment of bird watching: A gift membership in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Members receive our beautiful Living Bird magazine, informative BirdScope newsletter, and discounts on courses and citizen-science projects. It’s a meaningful gift that supports your loved one’s passion for bird watching and for helping in the study and protection of birds.

Give a gift membership today.

More Ways to Get Involved:

1. While you’re waiting for spring, help us sort and tag our 8 million archived NestCam images. Participants have already tagged more than 1 million images. Visit CamClickr.

2. Look out for Rusty Blackbirds! Their numbers have plummeted by 88-98% over the last few decades. Visit our web page to learn which states are in the Rusty Blackbird’s range, and report your sightings in the Rusty Blackbird Blitz.

3. Thanks to the generosity of bird photographers everywhere, the Birdshare Flickr group has surpassed more than 30,000 images! We feature many of these images on our websites. Add your photos or enjoy the abundance of beautiful bird photos at Birdshare.