Watch the Birds! – Get Outside!

When looking outside your window in January, the landscape can sometimes seem devoid of life. The brown grass peaks up through the piles of melting snow. The trees appear barren and are devoid of the frolicking squirrels the grace their boughs much of the year.

But if you look out your window long enough you will mostly like see a bird or two, a sign of life in the dreary landscape. If you step outside, close your eyes and listen you are likely catch the sound of a flock of Canada geese or a marauding crow. You might even catch the twittering of a black-capped chickadee or the song of a winter wren.

Live Bird Cam in Sapsucker Woods, Ithaca NY

Bird watching is something that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Here are some amazing resources to help you get started or continue along in your quest to learn more about birds.

If need help identifying the birds you see, check out the free Merlin Bird ID App from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. Just answer a few simple questions:

When and where did you see the bird?
What did it look like?
What was it doing?

and the app will show you the most likely species for your area on that day. So what are you waiting for, get out there and watch the birds!!

And if you want to learn more, starting next week, there is a great opportunity for New York State 4-H members of all ages to learn more about birds. Introducing 4-H Fly By, a virtual series on Ornithology – the study of birds.