This year we began participating in Feederwatch, which is a program run by the Cornell Department of Ornithology to collect bird counts at feeders across the country.
On two consecutive days per week, we look out the window and count the maximum number of birds of any particular species that we see at the same time. Then at the end of the two days we submit our counts online. We can watch for as long as we like. Our cumulative time is probably less than an hour each day.
Last Monday we had a snowstorm, and we saw 13 species of birds with a total count of 65 birds. That was really high, because we had a group of red-winged blackbirds and a group of robins show up. Most days we seem to have between 5 and 10 species for a total count of about 20 birds.
It's been fun, though. Lee can recognize all the common species, including male and female morphs, and Clara likes to watch and count too.
A Hairy Woodpecker and a Female Cardinal
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