Wow! I've seen them flock but not in those numbers! They gather in an empty lot next to where I work and we watch their aerial stunts, it's like they play follow the leader but the leader changes every few moments. What's interesting is that two of our most invasive alien species of birds (european starlings and house sparrows) are both considered endangered in Britain. Makes you wonder if they don't get to the point where the species has outgrown it's natural boundaries and begins to decline. I know I would gladly ship all my starlings over there! We have another winter storm moving through tonight and the birds seemed to know as they were all very actively feeding at dusk. Typically the last birds that I see in the evening are cardinals and tonight when I looked out I counted 43! That was just at the back feeders so I'm sure that count is low. I tried to get a picture of as many as possible but the best I could do was 17. Taken through the window with flash so not my best but you get the idea ... Here is a link that might be useful:

No snow here on the far east coast - that big Valentine's Day storm was sleet, frreezing rain and then just a deluge of rain with strong winds off the bay. I'm counting today and just waiting to see if more mourning doves sneak in as it gets dark. It's very windy and a few of my regulars have not appeared (tufted titmice and the robin). I'll probably count again one day this weekend to try to get all the species I know are out there. Maybe even the Cooper's Hawk. Claire

I counted in various places yesterday and photographed some nice birds in the local marsh, but one of the great things about the GBBC is that you can check on the whereabouts of a bird that's a harbinger of spring. Red-winged Blackbirds were seen in the hundreds in southeastern Massachusetts and there are reports in CT and RI. I myself saw a Brown-headed Cowbird this morning which is a bird that migrates early, usually with the grackles, close behind the red-wings. Spring is closer! Birds in the marsh: Great Blue Heron Green-winged Teal Red-breasted Merganser Buffleheads and a Canada Goose (one of many many Canada Geese) Claire

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