Homeschoolers learn how to identify birds and give three cheers for feeding their outdoor feathered friends during national bird feeding month and in preparation for the nationwide Great Backyard Bird Count.

The Great Backyard Bird Count begins this weekend

By Sarah Read

The Great Backyard Bird Count, an annual four-day event that, “engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent” begins this Friday, February 18 through Monday, February 21. Anyone can participate in the survey, from beginning bird watchers to experts.
Homeschool students from Greenville Michigan Inclusive Connection for HomeLearners prepared for the count last Friday morning at their weekly learning cooperative with a “Get to Know Your Backyard Birds” workshop. They learned tips for identifying birds starting with size, color, markings and song. They were also given complimentary bags of bird seed with guidelines for good feeder locations, along with full-color posters depicting common eastern North American birds donated by Wild Birds Unlimited, located on Northland Drive.

A downy woodpecker is one bird you might see in the Great Backyard Bird Count this weekend. Photo courtesy of the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

“My kids are so excited,” shared Jennifer Vermeulen who is using the opportunity to put up a new feeder. “They can’t wait to count the birds.”
According to the GBBC website, it is free to participate and takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count for as long as you like each day of the four-day event. Counting helps determine how each species is doing year by year, how weather is affecting flocks and if conservation efforts are needed for a species receiving an alarmingly low count for the year.
February is also national bird feeding month, as it is the toughest time for birds to find food in the wild. For more information about The Great Backyard Bird Count, visit http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc.
Greenville Michigan Inclusive Connection for HomeLearners consists of approximately fifty homeschool families and has weekly co-op classes, monthly field trips, holiday parties, park and sledding days, mom times, community service opportunities, curriculum discussion days and more. To learn more about G-MICH, please visit www.greenvillemichiganhomeschoolers.webs.com