I received a GBBC newsletter this morning and they state that so far: The numbers tell the story. With its new global reach, the 16th annual Great Backyard Bird Count becomes the largest worldwide bird count ever! As of today: 4 Days 103 Countries 120,000+ Checklists 3,144 Species 25.6+ Million birds That species total represents nearly one-third of the bird species in the entire world. Bird watchers in the U.S. and Canada set new national records for tallies submitted. Reports have come in from as far away as Antarctica and Afghanistan. So far, 30 states and 3 provinces have set new records for checklist entries. Here are the top ten countries by checklists submitted so far: United States 107,538 Canada 10,970 India 391 Mexico 263 Australia 143 United Kingdom 84 Peru 83 Puerto Rico 79 Iceland 78 Portugal 72 and they show a picture of a Japanese Green Woodpecker that is beautiful! Japanese Green Woodpecker by Masami Yoshimura, 2013 GBBC I submitted a number of checklists: one each day from my yard, two looking out at the bay to count shorebirds, and five from various spots nearby. Highlights for me were seeing the Green-winged Teal again at the Ellisville Harbor State Park and a huge raft of Common Eider in the Cape Cod Canal. It took me four days of counting before the turkeys decided to show up but I did manage to get them in (not that they're rare here but it wouldn't be a count without them). Claire

Thanks for posting this. I'm going to try to participate this year :-)

Misty, if you've never seen it, check out the PBS video, A Murder of Crows. It's about the intelligence of blackbirds, and it's pretty amazing! I've seen it on TV a couple times. http://video.pbs.org/video/1621910826/ I’m not a big fan of blackbirds! It’s not because I don’t like them “as birds,” it’s because they EAT all the seed I put out for the “little birds,” and I can’t afford to feed the BIG birds! I’ve developed a Blackbird Dispersal System so I can scare them away without hurting them, but they are VERY smart, and they keep coming back several times each time they show up—until they realize that the “scarer” is going to “appear” every time they come—and then they—all of them, at the feeders AND in the trees—go away and usually don’t come back for a day or two—to try again! There have been some VERY cool “animal” shows on PBS lately! The “animal homes” series that’s on right now is amazing! Also linked on that page. And if you click “see all” there are many more possibilities, including Leave it to Beavers, which was just on (TV) last week, and it’s absolutely incredible to see in such detail “what they do” and HOW they do it—and how good, and necessary, they are for the environment! If you have time, I highly recommend it! (Full episodes of “animal homes” are available on the “see all” page!) Easy enough to link things now, so here IS the “see all” page!!! http://video.pbs.org/program/nature/episodes/ Gotta go! P.S. Zach, I never managed to get back here to post, but I LOVE all the pics you posted. Thanks for posting them. I didn’t have a “very successful” bird count this year! Very few birds, and not much besides the normal “regulars” I have. Definitely no “murder” of robins this year! Misty I love your “icicle bluebird pic!” Feel very sorry for the bluebird—but love the pic! P.P.S. Since I already have WebAlbums up, here’s a pic (not very close up!) of a Golden Eagle on the Ute Mountain Tribal Park last spring! This is the only Golden I’ve ever seen! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/lKmHq6gaCDC_S3BtFXaMIQPPcO__tq0XI6jlKd1A8Lg?feat=directlink

So a couple of weeks ago, I move my ceramic hanging bird with bird nest to another hook on my front porch. When I did, I though "I wonder if a real bird would ever use this to make it's nest". Then yesterday, I noticed that indeed a bird had thought of that! I could see bits of the real nest poking out over the top of the fake nest!! I haven't see a bird inside of it yet, so don't know whether it abandoned the idea or will be back. It's not the most quiet spot as it's right by the front door. I thought I'd move the hook so it's a little farther into the corner so if mama bird does lay her eggs there, she won't be as disturbed. But how cute that my passing thought turned out to come true :) Marj