The Great Backyard Bird Count will take place on February 13-16, 2009. It is an excellent activity for novice birders to become more involved in birding. Full information on how to participate is available on their website at http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/ The middle of February is an exciting time to watch birds. The first stirrings of breeding activity in many species can be observed at this time. Woodland species can be heard singing and counter singing. The sound of woodpeckers drumming can also be heard. Territorial disputes erupt between male birds of the same species. Certain species of diurnal raptors copulate at this time. Few things can compare to the thrill of watching the courtship of a pair of Red-Tailed Hawks. Last year I participated by surveying the common areas in my apartment complex and nearby Lazelle Woods Park. Because of all that I observed in these four days, my participation in the Great Backyard Bird Count evolved into searching for and logging breeding activity in birds, which I then logged into the breeding bird atlas website, located at http://www.ohiobirds.org/obba2/ Even though February is a long way off, I would highly recommend making plans to participate. Al La Sala Columbus, OH ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]