Launched in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, the Great Backyard Bird Count was the first online citizen-science project to collect data on wild birds and to display results in near real-time.

Now, more than 160,000 people of all ages and walks of life worldwide join the four-day count each February to create an annual snapshot of the distribution and abundance of birds.

Scientists use information from the Great Backyard Bird Count, along with observations from other citizen-science projects, to get the “big picture” about what is happening to bird populations

Visit the website to learn more about how to count birds in your backyard or communites and upload the data.

Check with your local nature center and/or Audubon chapter for related events.

Below are some events:

Feb. 15, 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. O.S.Gray Natural Area, Arlington

Feb. 15, 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Acton Nature Center, Granbury

Feb. 15, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. River Legacy Park, Arlington

Feb. 16,  2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Trinity River Audubon Center, Dallas