Audubon Counting on Weekend Ornithologists

Bird-watchers in Orange County and around the nation are joining this weekend in the second annual Great Backyard Bird Count, a massive effort to determine the numbers and types of North American birds.

This year’s count is especially important because it follows the erratic weather of El Nino, said officials with the National Audubon Society, which is organizing the event with the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology.

The count uses a special Internet site called “BirdSource” developed by the Cornell lab and Audubon. Children, adults, classes and groups are asked to count birds spotted at backyard bird feeders, local parks and elsewhere.

They then enter their reports online at BirdSource, https://birdsource.cornell.edu.

Detailed information is available on the Web site. Those without Internet access can report sightings by calling Wild Birds Unlimited at (800) 326-4928.

People can spend as little as 15 minutes counting birds, on a single day or on all four days of the count, which started Friday and runs through Monday.

“The more information we have, the better we’ll be able to ensure our common birds will remain common and take measures to protect species already in decline,” said Cornell lab director John Fitzpatrick. “That’s why it’s so important to get as many people as possible to tell us what they’re seeing.”

For more information, call (800) 843-2473.