I used to do this as a group project with my class when I was teaching 10-year-olds. It was optional, but between the classroom feeders and the option of counting at home, I always hoped it would get at least some of the kids interested in the local birds.

Thanks, Jane. Mass Audubon and the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences (which started out as the Manomet Bird Observatory) have probably increased awareness of birds in Eastern MA. Besides, we have the advantage of harboring both shore and land-bound birds. It's fun to check out other towns and states to see what we have in common, and what outlandish birds (by New England standards) some people see every day. The Hawaii State Tally is a mix of wonderful sounding names and birds we also share. They saw Elepaio and Omao and Red-billed Leiothrix and Rock Pigeons and House Sparrows. Today is my second count day for Project FeederWatch, so it's back to the Downy Woodpeckers and Blue Jays and Northern Cardinals and Song Sparrows ..... Claire

Oh, lisa11310, that's exasperating! I had my usual feeder birds plus turkeys, with a surprise appearance of two Common Grackles and a Northern Mockingbird on Friday. They must have been migrating through because I haven't seen them since. I submitted those feeder counts but also made a few forays to local watery spots to see what was around. This is the fifth year in a row I've reported Green-winged Teal in the Ellisville Harbor State Park. It's near the upper limit of their winter range and I've learned where and when to find them slurping mud on the mudflats. Eighteen teal this year. My other main project was seeing if I could find a large flock of Common Eiders that might be floating with the current on the Cape Cod Canal. On my second stop along the Canal (at the Rail Road Bridge) I found a few Common Eiders, Red-breasted Mergansers and Common Loons. Common Eiders Red-breasted Merganser Common Loon I hit the jackpot on my third stop at the Mass Maritime Academy where there were around 250 Common Eiders floating around. There may have been a few other species of birds in there but I didn't see any. I couldn't really photograph the scene but I tried. Believe me, there were a lot of Common Eiders there - maybe that's why they're named "common". Today is my usual Project FeederWatch count so I'll submit those counts to GBBC too. I'm still hoping for the first Red-winged Blackbirds to arrive, but time is running out. Claire

Usually I count at a few local spots as well as from my windows, but I thought twice about it this year. When I thought third, though, I realized I need to start up my car anyway and drive when it gets really cold (I don't have a garage) so I decided to check one of those spots by car (in warmer winters I walk there). I drove to the marsh and took pictures from the side of the road. This is my local marsh where I saw about thirty Mallards and thirty-five Dunlins today in a very cold setting. The mallards did not look happy. Dunlins very far away: Claire