By By Lydia Grimes
features reporter
Local bird watchers are having their chance to join others during the 12th annual Great Backyard Bird Count this weekend. The Bird Count will last through Monday.
The bird count is a joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society. It is a free opportunity for families, students and people of all ages to discover the wonders of nature while at the same time, making a contribution to conservation. Participants count birds and report their sightings online at www.birdcount.org.
Participants can spend as little or as much time each day to take part. They can also go to the website to see how the count is going with people in other parts of the country.
In 2008 there were 634 species identified, 85,787 checklists submitted and 9,807,216 birds counted. There is a growing number of bird watchers here in the Brewton-East Brewton area.
Anyone can take part, from beginners to experts, by counting birds in their area and sharing their results with other bird watchers all over North America.
In addition to their entering tallies, participants submit thousands of digital images for the GBBC photo contest. Participants in the 2009 count are invited to upload their videos to YouTube: some will also be featured on the GBBC web site.