Audubon Society wants eyes to the skies for annual Great Backyard Bird Count [Video]

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, the Audubon Society held its annual Christmas Bird Count. This month, they’ll ask avid avian watchers to cast their eyes to the skies once again for the annual Great Backyard Bird Count from Feb. 16-19.

In Monroeville, the local library will host a Feb. 16 count from 9 a.m. to noon to observe and record local bird populations. But anyone can take part and record their results from any location over the count’s four-day run.

The “citizen science” project is in its 27th year, and is a collaboration between the Audubon Society, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in New York and nonprofit Birds Canada.

Even though both counts take place within a relatively short time, Audubon Senior Director of Climate and Community Science Brooke Bateman said they serve different purposes.

“The main difference is that the Great Backyard Bird Count is more of an introductory program,” Bateman said. “You can do it anywhere, including …