A significant birding event is coming up next month, and it is one in which anyone can participate, whether you are a beginning birder or a seasoned expert. 

The 2024 Great Backyard Bird Count will take place from Friday, February 16 to Monday, February 19. 

Sponsored by the National Audubon Society (Audubon), it’s an easy and fun event for the whole family. You can count birds from your kitchen window, or take a ride or hike to your favorite birding spot. 

Participants are asked to count birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the four-day event.

As Audubon explains, “The Great Backyard Bird Count is a free, fun and easy event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of bird populations.” 

Scientists can use data from the count, compare it with past years’ count data, and determine if the population or distribution of individual species is changing or is under threat. 

The Great Backyard Bird Count is part of a global effort of international bird conservation groups using the same time period and protocol to monitor birds. Included on the National Audubon Society’s site is a real-time global map to see worldwide submissions from fellow birders from around the world. 

If you have a mobile phone, you can bring it out into the field with you; apps such as Merlin or BirdNET, both from Cornell University, offer aids to identify a bird by sight or sound. Some apps, such as eBird or Merlin, enable you to submit data right from the field.

Instructions, checklists and data from previous years can be found on www.birdcount.org.