Great Backyard Bird Count

by Mary Free, Extension Master Gardener

Are you ready for this year’s Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) to be held from February 14–17? This project, first undertaken in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, aims to provide scientists with information about wild bird populations before they begin their annual migrations. At this time, scientists depend on citizens worldwide to gather data, whether they count birds from the warmth of their home, on a park bench, on a hiking trail, or during some other outdoor activity. (See the GBBC-related events to be held at some Virginia state parks.) Over the years, the GBBC has grown into the world’s largest biodiversity-related citizen-science project. Find out how to participate.

Why do scientists want to learn more about bird populations? A milestone 2019 study, Decline of the North American avifauna, revealed that since 1970 North America has lost 29% of its bird population—almost 3 billion birds! The reasons for this decline include habitat loss, climate change, pesticides and pollution, collisions with man-made structures, and invasive species.

The North American Bird Conservation Initiative’s State of the Birds Report 2022 found that more than half of U.S. bird species are declining in every habitat—forests, grasslands, deserts, and oceans—but one: wetlands. Why? Over the past several decades, the United States has dedicated resources and implemented policies (through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act and U.S. Farm Bill conservation programs) to conserve and restore wetlands through collaborations with federal, state, and local governments, corporations, landowners, and hunters. This proves that when people work together, positive change can happen. Just imagine if every landowner made their properties more hospitable to birds.

The first step is to grow native plants—ones that birds feed on normally. Birds and native plants have a mutualistic relationship that has evolved over millions of years. Native plants provide birds with habitat, food, and shelter, and in return birds may provide pollination services, seed dispersal, or pest control.

You can make your property more attractive to birds by creating a natural and diverse habitat with a variety of species in terms of shape, size (with horizontal and vertical layers), and seasonal interest. Select plants that have staggered fruit and seed production to allow for a continuous food supply when possible. To extend the availability of food, postpone removing flower seed heads until early spring or grow a meadow garden that can be left relatively undisturbed for a season or more. (Refer to MGNV’s Tried and True Native Plants Selections for the Mid-Atlantic fact sheets for information about the attributes and care of native plants that thrive in our local conditions and benefit our local wildlife.)

Harsher than normal winters can be challenging for birds, with a scarcity of fruits and seeds and frozen or snow-covered grounds, so you may want to supplement natural food sources with commercial bird food. To delve into the efficacy of bird feeders or to select the preferred foods of the species you want to attract, refer to the Virginia Cooperative Extension publication, Feeding Wild Birds: Should People Feed Birds and What’s Best to Feed Birds?

If you decide to use a bird feeder, locate it far enough away from windows to prevent collisions, and high enough (at least 6 feet) off the ground and close enough (about 15 feet) to shrubs and evergreens so that birds can escape predators but not close enough for predators, such as cats, to hide and pounce. Remember to keep feeders clean and food fresh to prevent the spread of disease. Find out if your state or locality require or recommend the removal of bird feeders from April to November/December so as not to attract nuisance wildlife or potentially dangerous animals like bears. During these months, nature’s buffet should satisfy a bird’s appetite without the need for commercial supplements. 

Also, if you don’t have a natural water source, use raised birdbaths and ground containers or create an artificial pond. Electric or solar heated birdbaths will keep water from freezing in winter. Like bird feeders, keep birdbaths clean and water fresh to prevent the spread of disease and the proliferation of mosquitoes in warm weather. 

By taking these steps, you will be rewarded with a variety of bird visitors; and they will be rewarded with an inviting habitat in which to feed, breed, and flourish.