It’s my favorite time of year, and while Oatland Island’s mission is to bring people into nature to make stronger connections to the natural world, you can start right in your own backyard! Whether you are walking around Oatland Island Wildlife Center or just looking into your yard, we hope that you take some time to participate in this year’s BACKYARD BIRD COUNT! What is that? So glad you asked. Every year, people just like you come together to help scientists learn about bird species in a quick, fun, and easy way!
“Each February, for four days, the world comes together for the love of birds. Over these four days, we invite people to spend time in their favorite places watching and counting as many birds as they can find and reporting them to us. These observations help scientists better understand global bird populations before one of their annual migrations.”
Participating is easy, fun to do alone or with others, and can be done anywhere you find birds.
Look for Birds of South Carolina - FEB 14-17th
Step 1: Decide where you will watch birds. (Maybe a visit to Oatland Island is in store!)
Step 2: Watch birds for 15 minutes or more, at least once over the four days, February 14–17, 2025.
Step 3: Identify all the birds you see or hear within your planned time/location and use the best tool for sharing your bird sightings. If you mark them on the Merlin App (see below), they automatically get recorded. There is also a State by State Checklist through Cornell's eBird which I am including below if you like to go the pen and paper route and record it on their website later!
If you are a beginning bird admirer and new to bird identification, try using the Merlin Bird ID app to tell us what birds you are seeing or hearing. These will automatically be counted towards the Backyard Bird Count once you're logged in!
CHECKLIST: If you prefer a checklist, you can download and print this PDF which lists ALL the birds you could expect to find across Georgia!
Tools of the trade: Honestly, all you really need are your eyes and ears! But if you're interested in getting fancy, a good pair of binoculars and a pen and notebook to keep track of the birds you see are good options!
Want to study up on our native bird species before next week?!
Visit https://www.savannahogeecheecanal.org/birding to learn what birds you may expect to see! If you are participating at Oatland Island Wildlife Center, be sure not to count the birds in our care though, they’re amazing, but they don’t count this time! We can’t wait to hear what you discover!
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