2021 Great Backyard Bird Count
Anyone can participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count, from the beginning bird watcher to the expert!
Hang out on the porch or peer out the windows of the cottage as we participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count! Staff will be at the BRDC Cottage Saturday, February 13th from 10-2 to participate in documenting the birds found at the Center, and submitting these data on eBird.
Anyone can participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count, from the beginning bird watcher to the expert. Each checklist submitted during the GBBC helps researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society learn more about how birds are doing, and how to protect them and the environment we share.
Stop in and share 15 minutes of your time in this worldwide citizen-science project with us. Or bring a sack lunch and hang out longer. We want to explore, discover, and share our backyard with you! Please come equipped with a face covering.
January Programs with Grayson County Public Schools
Blue Ridge Discovery Center shared two programs with 1st and 5th graders in Grayson County reaching five schools and seven classes in each grade.
Blue Ridge Discovery Center shared two programs with 1st and 5th graders in Grayson County. Reaching five schools and seven classes in each grade.
The 1st-grade K-2 Reading program enlisted our very own Didelphis virginiana, the only marsupial of North America. After reading, "There is an Opossum in my Backyard", the students colored, cut and pasted together their own opossum to hang around the room. We discussed all the reasons this mammal is so special and needs protecting. As one of our guides so fondly declares; "The opossum is a true superhero among animals!"
The 5th graders and the Natural Heritage Program focused on adaptations. We focused on birds, in particular, identifying many of our winter birds and learning the various ways they adapt to survive the harsh winter. Using technology to aid in identifying and sharing data about the birds in our communities, students are able to share what is going on with true Ornithologists and see the data they are helping generate as citizen scientists. Sibleys, Merlin ID, and eBird were used to demonstrate how accessible bird information can be. We viewed the eBird website and logged in to share birds we might see while watching a feeder during winter. Using these tools, students learn the importance of this information and strengthen their relationship with nature which leads to stewardship.