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The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is a fun event for bird watchers of all ages and abilities, from beginners to experts. The GBBC will be held Friday, February 17, through Monday, February 20, 2023. To help, you will need to count the birds you see or hear for at least 15 minutes (or longer if you wish) for one or more days of the four-day event. You can participate from your backyard, or anywhere in the world. For more information visit the GBBC website.
Photo at top: Northern cardinal. Photo by John Mack. Photo courtesy of the NYS DEC.
KEENE VALLEY & SARANAC LAKE, NY — Are you interested in bird watching, but don’t know where to begin? Starting this summer, the Keene Valley Public Library and Saranac Lake Free Library are loaning backpacks stocked with binoculars and field guides to give people an opportunity to try out birding.
Spring has sprung on this first day of spring (Sunday, March 20) and my daffodils would have bloomed yesterday if the sun stayed out, however it started snowing which shut them down. The crocus usually come out first, but they have only popped out of the ground and the daffodils have flower buds ready to pop. Coming home from Utica on Friday (March 18) with temperatures in the fifties (and even sixty) I kept mentioning there are more Robins along the shoulder of the road. My wife, Karen, said, “I hear you, yes, there are lots of Robins.”
It’s Sunday evening (March 6) and we just came home from the movies in Old Forge in a howling wind with the temperature at 55 degrees which breaks the record of 43 degrees set in 2004. The power was off a couple times during the movie but came back on, so we didn’t lose much of the plot. As this weather (with changing temperatures) came across the country a few tornadoes touched down across Iowa and one near Des Moines killed 7 people including two children.
Editor’s note: We are pleased to start offering this new weekly column from retired forest ranger 
You may have heard about the songbird illness affecting fledgling birds in many Eastern states this spring and summer. Several of these Eastern states issued restrictions on bird baths and feeders in an attempt to curb the spread of illness. By early September, all states have lifted their do not feed recommendations due to decreasing reports of bird illness. Please note: DEC did not issue a special summer notice as 
DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos announced
General inquiries about the Adirondack Almanack should be directed to editor 
Bluebirds are returning to the North Country
Bluebirds are among the first birds to return in the spring. And for some bird-enthusiasts, attracting a pair of these harbingers of spring to a backyard nest box and having them fledge a brood of young bluebirds is the ultimate birding experience.
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