The 15th annual Great Backyard Bird Count starts this Friday and runs through Monday. If you’ve never heard of the GBBC, here’s a description from the official website:

The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts. It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count for as long as you like each day of the event…Participants count birds anywhere for as little or as long as they wish during the four-day period. They tally the highest number of birds of each species seen together at any one time. To report their counts, they fill out an online checklist at the Great Backyard Bird Count website.

If you’re into birds, you probably already know about the GBBC. But if you’re the kind of person that wonders about the birds that flit through your backyard — maybe you put out feeders but don’t know what’s eating from it — the GBBC really is a fun way to learn more. All you need is a good bird ID guide, and those are plentiful on the Internet. The GBBC is also a great way to get kids into birds.