A wintering male Bufflehead would be an excellent addition to anyone’s GBBC bird list this coming 4-day weekend (photo by Paul Konrad). Downy Woodpeckers can be added to lists ranging from your backyard to the wilds of a local woodland during the GBBC – participate anytime from Valentine’s Day to Presidents’ Day. The GBBC is a global birding activity! Nations with the most bird sightings during the GBBC are colored red and orange, which are followed by yellow- and blue-colored nations; and a few countries colored gray that had no participants last year.

Have some fun during the coming Presidents’ Day Weekend by participating in Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) any of the 4 days starting this Friday to Monday, February 14 to 17! And don’t let the name confuse you, it’s no longer a backyard activity: You can join in this globally important winter birding event wherever you are and wherever you choose to go birding – as many times as you want to report, from your yard or any favorite birding locale. This weekend, the GBBC provides an opportunity for birders to report where different species of birds are found around the world during mid-February.

Plan to join birders from across the globe to identify and count all the birds you see, and report your observations on eBird. It’s easy, and fun: Each observation period should last at least 15 minutes and continue as long as you wish to be birding. By participating in the GBBC, you will be sharing the joys of birds and birding with birders from more than 200 countries around the world! The Great Backyard Bird Count is sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Audubon, Birds Canada, and Wild Birds Unlimited, and you can tap into a wealth of information about how to make the most of the GBBC activities at Great Backyard Bird Count – Join us each February when the world comes together to watch, learn about, count, and celebrate birds.