Monday, February 11, 2013 For the past 15 years, nature lovers
throughout the United States and Canada have counted birds
during the same four-day period to get a unique snapshot of
birds across our continent. This year, for the first time, the
Great Backyard Bird Count is going international. "We're
interested in seeing what other parts of the world are seeing,"
said Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology spokeswoman Miyoko Chu.
The rules are simple. Anyone who wants to count birds for the
contest can participate at any location between Friday and Feb.
18. Participants must watch birds for a minimum of 15 minutes,
and report the number of specific types they are able to
identify on www.birdsource.org. The project is an annual event
organized by the National Audubon Society and the Cornell
Laboratory. Last year, Ohio ranked eighth in states/provinces
submitting the most checklists. The city of Mentor was No. 9 in
2012 and has been No. 1 in previous years. "Ohio is an important
piece of the puzzle to detect movemen