Join the Great Backyard Bird Count

Germantown resident Brooke Levey participates in the Great Backyard Bird Count every year.  She and her husband watched birds as kids, were married in 2000, and now do it with their children.

She said it’s a great way to get children and families involved in citizen science.

Amateur birdwatchers from across the U.S. and Canada will submit their findings to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a sponsor of the four-day annual event. Participation in the Great Backyard Bird Count is easy. You can sit in your house and count the birds in your backyard if you like. You have to watch for at least 15 minutes sometime between Friday and Monday, tally the birds that you see, and submit the data to the GBBC website.  To participate, download a regional birding tally sheet, read the official rules, and start your count.   

“The Great Backyard Bird Count is a fun way to teach young children about common backyard birds,” said Levey.  “We like to bird in Black Hill Regional Park and the bordering neighborhoods.” 

She and her family regularly spot woodpeckers, vultures, crows, and a variety of songbirds in Germantown. 

Looking for a good place to start your tally?  Try these local nature centers:

Black Hill Regional Park
301-972-9396
Nature center open weekends from noon to 5 p.m.
Trails and grounds open sunrise to sunset.

Lynette Lenz, park naturalist, hopes to lead a “basic introductory program to backyard birding” this Saturday from 10 until 11:30 a.m., but she needs more participants or she will have to cancel the program.  The cost is $3 per person ($2 for Friends of Black Hill).  Call the nature center to register.

“We’re trying to get people involved with feeding birds in their backyard,” said Lenz.  Her program is “all about what they can do to attract wildlife, specifically birds, to their backyard.  We always have a craft for them to take home.” 

Lenz said that 139 different species of birds were spotted at Black Hill over the winter. 

“There’s always good birdwatching here, no matter the season,” she said.  

Black Hill has three free scopes that birders can use.  One is on the back deck of the nature center and the other two are near the fishing pier.

Meadowside Nature Center
301-258-4030
Center open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Trails and grounds open sunrise to sunset.

“We welcome visitors to come and use our trails.  We have bird feeders near our building that attract a variety of birds," Supervisor Grace Yick said.  Birding guides are available for visitors.   

This Saturday, Meadowside is hosting a free family-friendly winter hike from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.  Call the nature center to register.  Come dressed for the weather.    

Croydon Creek Nature Center
240-314-8770
Center open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m.
This Monday only: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Melinda Norton, assistant supervisor, is leading a program about the Great Backyard Bird Count on Saturday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.  Call the nature center to register; the cost is $3 for Germantown residents.   

“We’ll watch the birds with the people coming to the program,” said Norton.  “We’ll teach people how to identify birds, how to draw birds to their yard, and we’ll go on a little hike to find birds around the nature center.  Be prepared to go outside.” 

Bring binoculars if you have them.