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Join us for the Great Backyard Corvid Count

Although February has passed and the Great Backyard Bird Count has concluded, now is a great time to participate in a new bird count: the 2020 Great Backyard Corvid Count. No, that’s not a spelling mistake, and we don’t mean covid. For new birders, corvid is any family of stout-billed passerine birds, including crows, jays, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, magpies, treepies, choughs, and nutcrackers.

A backyard bird count is open to experts or first-time birders (it's a great activity for kids as well), and consists of birders watching birds in their backyards, tallying what they see and submitting the information  to help create a snapshot of avian populations. Backyard bird counts provide critical information for future conservation efforts just by reporting what you see and hear. 

A few common corvids you may see are American Crows, Blue Jays, and Fish Crows. You can also use the Audubon bird guide app or Audubon's Guide to North American Birds to help you ID corvids.

American Crow Photo: American Crow. Photo: Jim Vandegriff/Great Backyard Bird Count
Blue Jay Photo: Blue Jay. Photo: Rosemary Gillan/Audubon Photography Awards
Fish Crow Photo: Fish Crow. Photo: Alejandra Lewandowski/Audubon Photography Awards

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Birding in your backyard and recording what you see is a great way to help scientists learn how birds are doing and how to protect them.

Get you binoculars out, grab a pencil and paper and submit your bird observations online at ebird.org. Happy birding!

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