Great Backyard Bird Count

Calling all birders!

The 2021 Great Backyard Bird Count will be held from Friday, Feb. 12 through Monday, Feb. 15. This event, co-hosted by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Audubon Society and Birds Canada, is a great opportunity for birders of all levels to contribute to our understanding of bird populations.

https://ebird.org/homeTo participate, you will need to have a free eBird account, which is quick and easy to set up. During the count, observe and record birds using either the Merlin or eBird app for at least a 15 minute stretch. You can observe birds in your back yard but data submissions aren’t limited to around the house – checklists from anywhere are welcomed for the event.

In 2020 there were over 250,000 participants worldwide who observed over 27 million birds! That seems like a high benchmark to beat but participation has been increasing year after year – let’s make 2021 the best year yet! You can follow along with the count’s progress using Cornell’s live map of eBird submissions.

For more information on how to participate, head to BirdCount.org for more detailed instructions.

I wanted to observe Women’s History Month with a list of women naturalists. While there are long lists of white women and their contributions, I was surprised at how much effort it took to find non-white women and their contributions.  But: there’s no shortage of exciting reading about the contributions of women of color naturalists and environmentalists if you’ll take the time to look, and so, for Black History Month, I present to you this brief list of women of color naturalists. 

Continue reading “Women Naturalists of Color”