How to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count

Dig out the binoculars and take a good look outside

You don’t have to be an avid birder to join people from all over the country in the Great Backyard Bird Count. Participants of all ages, from beginning bird watchers to experts, are invited to participate in the four-day event this month.

Participants are asked to count birds for as little as 15 minutes on one or more days of the count and report their sightings online at birdcount.org.

Marisela de Santa Anna, president of the Peregrin Audubon Society, will help you prepare for the count during a free one-hour online workshop at 10 a.m. Feb. 12, the first day of the count. She is a staff biologist for the Mendocino County Resource Conservation District and has been involved for years in environmental education, including leading bird hikes. The workshop is put on by the Sonoma State University Center for Environmental Inquiry.

For a short introductory video on recording bird sightings online, go to ebird.org.

To register visit cei.sonoma.edu/calendar. For more information, call 650-996-8322 or email rawlinsm@sonoma.edu