The Habit of Counting Birds

by Julie Amato

A day in the life of a backyard bird counter

It’s a pretty, sunny morning, and I’m doing my daily bird routine - looking out the window, sipping coffee, and counting birds in my backyard. The first bird on my list is one that I hear, not see - a Mourning Dove cooing. I scribble this down in my notebook: “MD - 1, heard”. I then spot two American Crows, one drinking at our bird bath, another on the ground, and write this down too (“AC- 2, 1 at bird bath”).

*A very finchy group on a less sunny day - can you spot all of the birds?*

Suddenly, a big group of finches rains down from the sky to forage in the grass. I snatch my binoculars and count up to seven Lesser Goldfinches, seven Pine Siskins, and two House Finches, before they flush and my count is interrupted. I wait, knowing they’ll be back, and within twenty seconds, here they are again. I count, they flush, I count again, they flush, and eventually I’m satisfied that I’ve more or less counted the whole group: 19 Lesser Golds (a record number for my yard!), a dozen Pine Siskins, seven House Finches, and - surprise! - a lone American Goldfinch in the mix.

*A detail of the photo above - there are more birds than you might think!*

I then move on to the corner of the yard where the crowned sparrows like to hang out, and continue counting there.

My 27-minute count yields the following tally:

Mourning Dove - 1

American Crow - 2

Chestnut-backed Chickadee - 2

Bewick’s Wren - 1

Northern Mockingbird - 1

House Finch - 7

Pine Siskin - 12

Lesser Goldfinch - 19

American Goldfinch - 1

Dark-eyed Junco - 1

White-crowned Sparrow - 5

Golden-crowned Sparrow - 2

Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1

I head over to the computer and pull up eBird, one of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s citizen science projects, where people all over the world share their bird lists online. I enter my list into my account, click submit, and feel a distinct sense of accomplishment when the number of consecutive days that I’ve submitted checklists to eBird ticks up by another day. I’ve completed my daily bird count in my yard, and I feel good!

Why count birds?

I’ve done a daily bird count for the past three years, and started my fourth year of daily counting this January.

I count birds every day for a number of reasons: because I can contribute my observations to science and support bird conservation by doing so; because I love to learn, and by paying attention to birds every day, I always learn something new; because the act of counting itself is meditative and leaves me feeling calm and contented; and finally, because I can share my observations with other people who love birds, which brings me joy.

If you regularly watch birds in your yard or neighborhood, I encourage you to make a habit of counting them and sharing your counts. Not only will you be helping birds and those who make decisions that affect them, you’ll also have a lot of fun in the process, and (I hope) feel a deeper connection to the world around you.

How to make counting birds a regular habit

The keys to developing a regular counting habit are to keep it simple, and to find inspiration in something bigger than yourself. Here are some tips about how to get started:

Pick an easy “patch” to count

A “patch” is simply a place where you bird regularly. For me, my patch is my backyard, including a few bird feeders, a bird bath, the fence, and a tangle of utility wires overhead. For years, I lived in an apartment, and my patch then was my balcony. In both cases, I can and could complete my daily bird counts without even leaving the house.

This might sound lazy, but by making it as simple as possible for myself to observe my patch, I eliminate any excuse for not being able to count birds on a given day! So pick a place that’s easy for you to observe because you’re already there often, like your home, a neighborhood park, or another place where you frequently spend time.

Count every day (or according to a fixed schedule)

I’ve made counting birds a daily habit by doing it, well, every day. If you can’t count every day, commit to a schedule that works for you, like Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, or every Saturday and Sunday.

There is a chicken-and-egg problem embedded here, I know - you still have to find the motivation to count each day (more on that later). And yet, committing to a count schedule removes a major obstacle from your path, namely, the decision about whether to count birds today. As a bonus, if you count every day, you remove the friction of getting the gears moving again if you’ve taken a day or two off.

Put a time limit on your counts

I count for twenty minutes each day - and I time those minutes. In practice, I often count longer, or more than once a day, just because I want to. However, by giving myself a daily time limit, I eliminate the need to decide if I’ve birded enough on a given day. And I know when I’ve completed the task, giving me a sense of accomplishment.

Just like deciding your count days, pick a time limit that works for you - even a five-minute count is valuable to science! You can start with a modest limit and increase it eventually if you wish.

Record your counts

I write my checklists in a small notebook that I can easily slip into a pocket, making a note of the place, the date, the start and end time of the count, and the number of each species that I’ve seen. I have my own shorthand for species names - usually two or three letters, the first initials of the words in the name, like “HF” for House Finch and “CSJ” for California Scrub-Jay (this isn’t a foolproof system for all the birds you’ll see in different habitats - does “AC” mean “American Crow” or “American Coot”? - and you can use unique standardized codes if you wish). You’ll come up with your own shorthand system over time.

You can also tally your counts directly on an online platform like eBird, which also has a mobile app.

Report your counts

If daily birding were just a pact between me, myself, and I, I would surely fail - by reporting my findings to science, I create external accountability.

I transcribe my notes into eBird checklists as soon as I can, usually right after I finish my count. Not only does this allow me to contribute my findings to science and share them with other birders, but over time, I have a searchable database of my observations, allowing me to find all sorts of interesting patterns, or just check simple facts (for example, I can tell you that before doing the count I described above, I last saw an American Goldfinch in my backyard on December 6, because I can pull up all of my sightings of that species in my yard with a single click).

Don’t worry about identifying every bird you see and hear

If you’re new to birding, don’t let what you don’t know get in the way of doing a count! Citizen science projects like eBird don’t expect you to identify every bird you observe, they just ask you to do the best you can (here is eBird’s definition of a complete checklist). Any bird you can identify is valuable information for scientists.

And if you are birding your backyard, bear in mind that there aren’t that many species to learn - you’ll probably see about a dozen species regularly, and many of them are unique and easy to tell apart. Believe me, you will never mistake an American Crow for a Chestnut-backed Chickadee!

*Chestnut-backed Chickadees at the SCVAS feeders at McClellan Ranch*

For the trickier ID’s, there is a wealth of resources out there, both print field guides and online bird guides and apps, like All About Birds, Merlin, and SCVAS’s own website. Trust that your identification skills and confidence will improve with practice, because they will.

It takes time to learn how to identify birds, and one of the best ways to learn is by doing a daily count, which requires you to pay close attention to the birds that you see each day.

Let joy and connection motivate you

Finally, having a reason to count birds that is bigger than a self-discipline project, a purpose that taps into your values and connects you to others, is a strong motivating force.

Maybe you’re inspired by the good you can do for birds by contributing information to science; maybe you have a compelling desire to know more about a certain bird that visits your yard every day; maybe you’d like to share your beautiful and surprising bird stories with other people who love birds. A heartfelt “yes!” to whatever moves you will start you on your birding journey and keep you going.

*Always a special treat, a Fox Sparrow visits the yard on a winter day, foraging with the crowned sparrows.*

Here are some ways you can contribute and connect to others who care about birds:

Share your checklists with scientists: Citizen science projects want your bird counts! The data you share with them will be used by scientists to better understand trends in bird populations and support bird conservation.

Chief among these projects is eBird, the global database of bird checklists managed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. It’s an easy-to-use online platform, a great way to keep your lists organized, and a powerful source of information for all birders. You can also join FeederWatch, another Cornell Lab project, and count birds that visit your yard or another favorite birding patch in winter.

Join a big bird count: If you’re new to counting birds, or just want to be part of a fun event, you can participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count, a global count of birds that is open to everyone. The GBBC will be held from February 12-15 this year and is an excellent way to learn how to count birds and submit your counts to scientists.

Connect with local bird lovers: SCVAS members and neighbors want to know what birds you’re seeing in your yard or around your block! Send your stories and photos to backyardbirds@scvas.org and we’ll publish your submittals in our monthly backyard bird round-up All Around Town. Feel free to contribute each month.

Learn about your local backyard birds on our website: Explore our grid of common backyard birds in Santa Clara County, take a deeper look at featured species in Backyard Bird of the Month articles, and get seasonal observations and advice on birding at home in the column you’re reading now, Notes and Tips from a Backyard Birder.

Send us your questions and suggestions about backyard birds and birding: backyardbirds@scvas.org. We love to help, and we welcome ideas about how we can make birding at home more fun and rewarding for you.

Happy birding and counting in 2021!

Julie’s Backyard Bird List (December 17, 2020 - January 24, 2021)

Mourning Dove
Anna’s Hummingbird
Gull species* (flyover)
Turkey Vulture* (flyover)
Cooper’s Hawk
Red-breasted Sapsucker*
Nuttall’s Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Black Phoebe*
California Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Oak Titmouse
Bushtit
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
White-breasted Nuthatch
Bewick’s Wren
European Starling
Northern Mockingbird
Western Bluebird*
Hermit Thrush
American Robin*
Cedar Waxwing*
House Finch
Purple Finch
Pine Siskin
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
Fox Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
California Towhee
Spotted Towhee
Yellow-rumped Warbler

*Species only observed elsewhere in my neighborhood, within walking distance of my home.

Photos on the All Around Town page: Bewick’s Wren by Suresh Thirumalai and Golden-crowned Sparrow by John Richardson

All other photos by Julie Amato and Francesco Meschia