The annual Great Backyard Bird Count begins today, Fri. February 17, 2006 through Monday February 20, 2006. This is an attempt to get a good statistical sampling of all bird species in the world. Essentially you spend as little as 15 minutes at a time counting ALL the species and ALL the indivdual birds of EACH species within eyesight and/or earshot of YOUR yard (Or ANYWHERE else you happen to be), during this event, and reporting your observations to this site:

The Great Backyard Bird Count

This is great fun, sorta like an Easter Egg hunt for adults. So far this morning I have observed a female House Sparrow already gathering dried grasses from my backyard and flying with them to her usual nesting place she uses each year. This is the earliest I have ever seen this species start nest building and will be a significant activity to report. I also have some good pictures to send in with my reports.

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A bird in the hand......can sometimes be a mess.