Where Are You Birding this Second Weekend of February 2009?

By Mike • February 12, 2009 • 9 comments

Listen up, all you North American bird watchers… this weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count. , our annual four-day backyard birding, citizen science extravaganza. Coincidentally (or not) today kicks off the observance of the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birthday. Since nature lovers around the world owe much to Darwin’s discoveries, this seems a foruitous weekend to get out there and enjoy some nature! What will you be doing this weekend and what will you be watching? Comment below on the excitement you have planned!

I’ll be participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count as I do every year. However, since my mother and sister will be visiting from out of town, active birding will be kept to a minimum. Corey will be enjoying the feeder birds at his folks’ place in the Albany area. Charlie, lucky Charlie, will be in Vancouver and will try to hit Stanley Park.

Whatever you do this weekend, make time to enjoy Sky Watch Friday…

Keep your eyes to the skies for flying ibises like these Australian White Ibises Charlie spotted in Sydney

Tags: february, weekend

Explore These Related Posts

...Or These Blasts From The Past

About the Author

Mike

Mike is a leading authority in the field of standardized test preparation, but what he really aspires to be is a naturalist. Besides founding 10,000 Birds and I and the Bird, Mike has also created a number of other entertaining sites and resources, particularly the Nature Blog Network.

9 Responses to “Where Are You Birding this Second Weekend of February 2009?”

Eva Feb 12th, 2009 at 5:55 pm

Last weekend was Everglades, this weekend I will be in the extreme opposite end of Florida, Jacksonville. Oh and of course a night at Jekyll Island, Georgia…my former home of three years and one of my favorite places in the world. The birds aren’t half bad either.
Pagan Sphinx Feb 12th, 2009 at 6:46 pm

Lovely shot. Happy SWF.
Rune Feb 12th, 2009 at 8:36 pm

Beautiful shot! Happy weekend and SkyWatch :o)
babooshka Feb 12th, 2009 at 9:43 pm

Another on the list of birds I cannot see my way. Envious of such a marvellous image
Kallen305 Feb 12th, 2009 at 10:49 pm

Awesome sky for skywatch! My favorite kind of sky is that with birds in it flying freely as they should be.

I will be going all over the place around my area this weekend. I have all four days off and I will be using them to bird for science. ;o).
Joseph Feb 13th, 2009 at 10:19 am

The weather in NYC is supposed to be OK for the Great Backyard Bird Count so I’ll be at my local parks.
Carrie Feb 13th, 2009 at 2:33 pm

Since I have a long weekend, we’re going to Montauk and Orient Point to look for seabirds.
Mary Carlson Feb 13th, 2009 at 3:03 pm

Rain is forecasted for the entire weekend (and next week) for the GBBC, but there have been moments of sunshine, too. So, I’ll be birding my back yard and around the neighborhood this weekend.
Larry Jordan Feb 14th, 2009 at 6:13 pm

Hey Mike, I will be birding my backyard of course for the GBBC! It’s a great day for birding today with huge flocks of finches. 14 species in the first hour of observation!

Kudos to Charlie for the awesome White Ibis captures!

Share Your Thoughts

Asides

The Birder’s Report becomes a Species Champion

Excellent news from Larry Jordan, the force behind The Birder’s Report: he’s joined BirdLife’s ‘Preventing Extinctions Programme’ as a Species Champion. The PEP focusses on saving the 192 most threatened birds on the planet, and with supporters with the conservation creds of someone like Larry perhaps it will become far better known in North America than currently. Let’s hope so - and who’ll be next to join I wonder?

First Bird of 2010

What was your first bird of 2010? Let us know in the comments…and, if you wrote a blog post or have a picture of your first bird of the year online somewhere, well, leave a link in the comments too.
Happy New Year from all three of us at 10,000 Birds! And here’s hoping you see many great birds, including lots of lifers, in 2010!

‘Mermaids’ battered by boats

“Each year, about 87 manatees are killed by collisions with boats, the single greatest cause of premature mortalities. This is more than seven times number of manatees that the Fish and Wildlife Service estimates can be killed without impairing the species’ recovery. Meanwhile, boating in Florida is at an all-time high and increasing with more boats in the water…”. Another good example of why the International Year of Biodiversity ought to matter.

Residents Crying Foul…

…over Common Peafowl. Seems that Longboat Key, Florida, has way too many of the gorgeous gregarious birds and has to continually cull the flock. And Longboat Key isn’t the only community in the U.S. with a peafowl problem: apparently California and Texas locations have had issues as well. So introducing non-native birds because they are pretty might not be the best idea? Who would’ve thunk it?