Today’s the first day of the four-day Great Backyard Bird Count, February 17-20, 2012.

It’s easy and fun to participate.  Just count birds for at least 15 minutes during the four-day period.  (You can count for much longer than that if you wish.)  Keep track of the highest number of each species you see.  Record your count here.  Ta dah!

Last year participants counted over 11 million birds and many of them took photographs.  Submit your photos and you may win a prize.

You can count birds anywhere —  in your backyard, in a park, at the shore, or on a hike.  Don’t like the weather?  Stay indoors and count the birds at your feeders.

Click here to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count.

Someone, somewhere, will be lucky to count this uncommon bird in their backyard this weekend.  Though the range map indicates that red-headed woodpeckers live in Pennsylvania year-round, they’re unusual in southwestern Pennsylvania in the winter.  Marcy Cunkelman was lucky to see this one at her suet feeders in the spring.

(photo by Marcy Cunkelman)