Backyard birdwatching

The flu is stalking our household. It got me first, and then Anouk. (J., for the moment, has been spared.) We've been spending a lot of time indoors, naturally. One of the best ways we've found to pass the long hours is to sit in front of our picture window and watch the robin redbreasts who have started congregating in our front yard as we get closer and closer to spring. Last week, we put together some simple bird feeders to make the place a little more comfortable for them. Old toilet paper rolls covered in peanut butter, rolled in birdseed, and strung from the branches of our little maple = bird paradise.


Over the past few months I've been reading a lot about ways to provide kids with a real link to the scientific community, and I think citizen science initiatives are a great way to get started. One such initiative is eBird, an online tool launched by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society to track bird sightings. Bird populations are currently declining all over the world, and the eBird stats collected by birdwatchers help scientists and researchers track the rise and fall of species and give them an idea about the abundance of different birds in different areas.

A. has taken to standing at the door to keep watch over our birdfeeders -- every time she sees a little feathered friend come into view, she calls out, "Bird!" and we rush to the window to gather our stats and write them down: what type of bird (we use Cornell's bird ID tool if we're not sure), how many, and what they're doing. Every few days, we upload our data to eBird. Real science, used by real scientists, and kids can participate in it in a real way. I find that (really) very cool.


As far as our birdfeeders go, they've been pretty successful. In addition to our robins, we've spotted a couple of beautiful cardinals and several amusingly persistent grackles. And a ton of squirrels -- it's too bad they don't also have a tool for tracking squirrel populations. Our backyard squirrel stats could give scientists enough info to keep them going for years.

What about you? Do you think your kids would enjoy using eBird? (You can click here to set up an account). What kind of birds can you see in your yard?