February 15-18, 2008 marks the Great Backyard Bird Count – an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts. It takes as little as 15 minutes. It’s free, fun, and easy—and it helps the birds.

And if you want help learning how to count… check out Wildlife Counts, a training program for estimating flocking bird population sizes. They say, “Gone are the days when biologists dropped handfuls of rice or beans on a table to simulate animal groups.” Interested? They have a free trial for use by professional or amateur bird watchers.

Also from the site, “Superior computer graphics resulting in screen images that are often difficult to distinguish from pictures”….. l was looking for a graphic for this post and came up with an image from Wildlife Counts that l thought was REALLY a photo of geese.

On a similar note: Since Christmas Day, 1900 (which is technically still the 19th century BCE), the idea for a Christmas Bird Count was introduced thanks to the inspiration of Frank M. Chapman, a innovative conservator and an early officer in the then budding Audubon Society. With the enthusiasm of twenty-seven dedicated birders, twenty-five Christmas Bird Counts were held that day.

Christmas Bird Count is a census of birds in the Western Hemisphere, performed annually in the early Northern-hemisphere winter by volunteer birders. The purpose is to provide population data for use in science, especially conservation biology, though many people participate for recreation.

This year, despite challenging weather conditions, the 108th CBC is now heading toward the record books.

From the Audubon official site:
The primary objective of the Christmas Bird Count is to monitor the status and distribution of bird populations across the Western Hemisphere. The information is also vital for conservation. For example, local trends in bird populations can indicate habitat fragmentation or signal an immediate environmental threat, such as groundwater contamination or poisoning from improper use of pesticides.

Check out the AfriCam, where you can watch live footage of the happenings at a watering hole. The webcam is located at a private game lodge in the Kruger National Park in South Africa.

You make also want to check out a YouTube video of a battle between a herd of water buffalo versus a pride of lions. Its a little long, but it has a good ending!

Happy Birthday, Green Options!

Green Options, that community of superheroes dedicated to environmental resources, education, and discussion, doesn’t have to fly around the Earth at an incredible speed, reversing our rotation and sending us back in time to make our reality better, cleaner and, most importantly, more sustainable. No, what the team at Green Options has been doing for us, while our beautiful planet revolves normally in the vastness of the universe for the past year, is combine together the expertise of a diverse group of talented individuals who are committed to ecology in the broadest sense.

There are many people to appreciate in the one-year-old GO project- from Publisher David Anderson and Senior Editor Jeff McIntire-Strasburg to the many blog writers and podcasters who activate their growing readership in amazing (and interesting) ways. The robust, link-layered posts bring us from our home garden to science class to Wall Street to the White House, with an eye toward internationalgreen trends, too. Don’t forget the kids on this trip!

How? Promote strong climate law. It is being promoted in the U.K. with Friends of the Earth spear-heading the effort, and they say it’s working.

How?

• Pledge
• Web-march

This promotion caught my eye because of their use of web media – you can upload your own video or animation! Some of the clips will also be chosen to appear in a short film produced by Friends of the Earth. Way cool!

What does Friends of the Earth say about themselves?
Friends of the Earth wants a healthy planet and a good life for everyone on it. In fact, we believe you don’t get one without the other. We are trusted and determined and have been making life better for people and the planet since 1971.