celebrating birds in my urban neighborhood

I owe a lot of gratitude to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, for they are the brains behind my very favorite bird book, The Backyard Birdsong Guide. The kids and I have used this book countless times to identify the tweeting we've heard outside, and some particular birds' calls have been played again and again, simply because they're really cool sounding. (I'm looking at you Common Loon, number 008.)

I've used the Lab's main site with previous preschool classes during bird studies, as well as just to look around with my own kids. The nest cams are always awesome, and I've always been pleased with the information on the site and the format in which it's presented.

This summer, I'm happy to taking part in the Cornell Lab of Orinthology's Celebrate Urban Birds! project. I registered and about a week later, the kit arrived. The kids like the theme poster, and I'm a fan of the Silhouette Poster, in particular. When I registered, I committed to conducting at least one ten-minute observation in my own urban area, though I plan to do it again two additional times as optional entries.

The project is specifically looking for data about sightings of fifteen different birds. (Two types of Orioles are included on the chart so that the eastern and western portions of the country can be represented.) Before heading out for my first observation in our own yard, I predicted that of the fifteen, I'd most likely see no more than five of those listed: American Crow, American Robin, European Starling, House Sparrow and Mourning Dove. It would be super awesome to see a Peregrine Falcon, but I had my doubts.

I decided that I'd go out yesterday morning around 8 am, and simply sit on the bench in our yard to watch the trees and yard and sky. A few minutes in, Pudge joined me, with the (three year old) promise to stay quiet. He lived up to his word, quite wonderfully in fact. We sat quietly, looking all around, listening to the sounds of traffic and some road construction going on across the street.

Rustling in the trees got me excited, only to realize a squirrel was engaged in his morning acrobatic practice. A mockingbird appeared a couple times, once dive bombing at a different squirrel in our garden, before returning to the area in our townhouse court where he must have his nest. I have great respect for the brave and fierce mockingbird, but he wasn't on my chart, so I kept watching.

Then I looked down at my phone and realized that more than ten minutes had passed. Of the fifteen birds on the list, I had spotted exactly ZERO in our yard area. Bummer.

Then I remembered another piece that was included in the kit:

Send us your data -- even if you saw none of the target birds!

Alas, I didn't see any of the listed birds yesterday, but I'm planning on trying two more times this week, once in the afternoon and again in the early evening. Regardless of what I see, I'll certainly be entering my data.

The best part? This initiative is open to anyone who wants to participate. If you want to register to receive your own kit, visit the Getting Started page, and get ready to bird watch!


Hopeful for at least a starling or two today,