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

Nothing exciting, NHBabs, just the regulars and in some areas less than I'd hoped. I visited several areas along the Cape Cod Canal hoping to see the huge raft of ducks riding the current that I'd seen in the past. I probably timed it wrong because I only saw a few birds, including this red-breasted merganser preening. I checked the local marsh hoping for green-winged teals but saw mostly mallards and Canada geese. Mallards and the regulars at home were just that, the regulars chowing down. Exciting sightings, though, are great for the observer but the data-base is happy with more information on the regulars. Large flocks of crows are really impressive! One spring (I think it was spring - not GBBC) I too saw large numbers of crows flying overhead heading north and cawing. It fascinated me to see the local crows fly up to meet them, fly along a bit, and then drop down again. I was imagining them saying "Great to see you! How's the family! Have a good trip! Bye now!" Claire

Final Summary for GBBC 2017 dated March 3, 2017 "Thank You For the Biggest GBBC Ever Once again participants from around the world set new records for the number of species identified during the four days of the Great Backyard Bird Count, for the number of checklists submitted, and the number of estimated participants. These numbers are based on totals taken on the afternoon of March 3 and they are impressive. The amount of increase is based on a comparison to 2016 count figures: Total checklists: 173,826 (2016 final total: 162,052) Total species: 5,940 (2016 final total: 5,689 ) Estimated participants: 214,018 (2016 final total estimate: 163,763)"

I just want to second what Claire posted here! I just posted info about the GBBC on the forum where I "normally" post, the Rocky Mountain Gardening forum, and I'll add it here since it has a couple links with additional info! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Just want to let you all know that it's time for another Great Backyard Bird Count! It starts this Friday, Feb 15 and goes for four days, thru Monday, Feb 18. If you want to participate, all you need to do is keep track of what birds you see for at least 15 minutes on any one of those days--or for 10 hours a day on all of those days!--it's up to you--and then report what you've seen on the GBBC site to have them included in the worldwide bird count. You can count in your own backyard--which is what I do--or you can go to any location you want to to do your counting--it might be a nice day for a hike around your nearest reservoir or a walk at your local park! It helps the birds by showing which birds are where, how migration patterns change over time, and which species might be increasing--or declining. In this age of global warming it helps the people who help the birds to know what's going on! Below are links to the email I got about this year's count, and the FAQs page about the bird count. If you don't "normally" watch and identify birds, you can print out a list of the birds most likely to be seen in your area, and there's plenty of identification info to help you! I hope some of you will decide to participate this year, Skybird https://mailchi.mp/cornell/ngu4k6sy7x?e=cb6f4a5944 http://gbbc.birdcount.org/help-faqs/