The traditional May Count, organized by the Maryland Ornithological Society for the past 50 years, is yet another casualty of COVID-19. The May Count is something that many birders in our area look forward to, as a chance to get out and go birding with friends during one of the best times of the year. And it is a chance to contribute to science, by adding your sightings to the 50 years of observations of the passage of the wave of migrants through our area.
Although we can’t hold a traditional May Count this year, MOS invites you to a special weekend of birding, the C-Free May Count. During the weekend of May 9-10, get outside by sitting in your backyard, or by taking to your feet or bicycle, and go birding in the Carbon-free, COVID-free May Count. Go out and see the passage of the spring wave of warblers! And share what you have seen with MOS and the birding community, on the MOS Facebook page or the MDBirding Google group. You can also submit your observations to MOS via eBird, email, or even telephone. Complete instructions can be found at C-Free May Count.pdf. There is but one rule for the C-Free May Count: Go Birding!
If you do join the C-Free May Count, remember that May 9th is also Cornell Lab’s Global Big Day, so any eBird checklist submitted for that day will be included in the Big Day totals. And it is a prime time to contribute to the third Maryland-DC Breeding Bird Atlas, too, which has started collecting breeding bird observations just this year!
Here is a link to where you will find the 2020 checklist in both pdf and spreadsheet format - https://mdbirds.org/go-birdwatching/count-birds/may-count-spring-migration/ so you can download it to use if you would like.
Celebrate the arrival of spring and the annual migration of the colorful warblers by going birding on the C-Free May Count!
