Watching birds lifts my spirits, as it has for decades, and who couldn’t use their spirits lifted right about now? But there’s another much bigger potential benefit, which is that sharing my sightings helps scientists understand what’s going on with bird populations in a changing world. 

One of my favorite citizen-science efforts, a global project called The Great Backyard Bird Count, is coming up Feb. 16-19, and its project manager is here today with tips on using the latest technology like the Merlin app, along with our old-school observational powers to improve our bird ID skills. 

Becca Rodomsky-Bish manages the annual Great Backyard Bird Count, a collaboration founded in 1998 between Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where she works, the National Audubon Society and Birds Canada. Becca is also a passionate habitat-style gardener herself.  (Photo: Brad Imhoff/Macaulay Library.)

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