Backyard Bird Count coming

Winter can be an unusually quiet and slow time for bird life in our backyards and neighborhoods. But we can add some zest to our favorite pastime by participating in the annual Great Backyard Bird Count sponsored each February by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society.

This will be the 12th annual citizen-science event in which your personal observations help the Cornell team track bird-life trends across North America, and your tally will help their information database grow larger and more accurate.

Last year more than 85,000 birdwatchers contributed their observations.

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It's easy to get involved, and the rules are simple:

You'll find that the best time to observe birds is early morning after sunrise when they begin feeding. The activity will increase with the morning's warmth. Late afternoon also is a good time. It might help to have binoculars handy as well as a bird-identification guide if a puzzling stranger drops in.

If you head to a neighborhood park for the count, seek out a habitat that has a mix of small open areas and brush for cover. Field edges often are good feeding grounds for birds, where they'll find plenty of seeds and berries among the trees and vine tangles. Brushy stream beds and pond edges also can be magnets for hungry birds in the morning. Birds do not like windy conditions, so seek areas that are protected or minimize the wind.

I plan to tally bird life in my own small urban backyard. I know the number of species will be limited here, so I'll also head to my neighborhood park for my daily morning walk. Last month, I noticed early courtship behavior of great horned owls and pileated woodpeckers, so I hope there will be even more activity as we head toward spring.

Together we can take part in an enjoyable winter pastime and at the same time aid the Cornell ornithologists in their quest to see how our winter birds are faring.

Contact Jerry Uhlman at .