It’s Almost Time for the Great Backyard Bird Count

This audio story is brought to you by BirdNote, a partner of the National Audubon Society. BirdNote episodes air daily on public radio stations nationwide.

Transcript: 

This is BirdNote!

This weekend is the annual Great Backyard Bird Count, sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Birdwatchers across the country count birds in parks, fields, and back yards, and then report the numbers on-line. 

Although it may seem that crows are everywhere, the beautiful Northern Cardinal is reported on the most lists nearly every year, far above the crow. Well, if there’s a male cardinal at your feeder, it is pretty hard to miss!

Birds reported in the highest numbers last year were Snow Geese, with Canada Geese not far behind. 

The Great Backyard Bird Count provides a snapshot of the state of the birds across the country. It helps scientists understand the distribution of bird populations, and alerts them to possible declines of species. 

If you can recognize your common local birds, join the count. 

I’m Michael Stein.  

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You can find more information on the Backyard Bird Count, here.  

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Credits: 

Bird calls provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York.

Black-capped Chickadees 117803 by S.R. Pantle, Downy Woodpecker 62757 by William Gunn; Northern Cardinal 105598, and American Crow by Geoffrey Keller. 

BirdNote's theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.

 Narrator: Michael Stein   

Producer: John Kessler

Executive Producer: Dominic Black

© 2016 Tune In to Nature.org        

February 2015/2018