GBBC - or The Great Backyard Bird Count is looking for volunteers to count the birds in their backyards* for 4 days in February. You can sign up to participate at their website. http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc /

This helps to document many different things and can touch on many issues close to DUer's hearts and minds. Examples from their site are:

How will this winter's snow and cold temperatures influence bird populations?

Where are winter finches and other “irruptive” species that appear in large numbers during some years but not others?

How will the timing of birds’ migrations compare with past years?

How are bird diseases, such as West Nile virus, affecting birds in different regions?

What kinds of differences in bird diversity are apparent in cities versus suburban, rural, and natural areas?

Are any birds undergoing worrisome declines that point to the need for conservation attention?



And for those photo-taking DUer's they also have a contest for (what else) photos of birds submitted by the public. There are prizes for birdwatching submitters as well.

* from above - it doesn't have to be your backyard. As they say on their site: It doesn't matter whether you report the 5 species coming to your backyard feeder or the 75 species you see during a day's outing to a wildlife refuge.