The Great Backyard Bird Count—you could think of it as a Valentine for the birds…tuning in with heightened awareness to notice the birds who co-inhabit our backyards and urban streets, and help us all to better understand how they’re doing. On my list first today will be the wild turkeys who literally share the road. I pass them daily walking single file to their favorite spots. The non-native Wild Turkey has a complicated story in California where I live. I deeply appreciate the opportunity to live beside such an enormous bird. I remember the first time I saw them flying one by one into the tree where they roosted at night…I’d stumbled upon them on an early evening walk. Until then, I’d only seen them walking or jogging everywhere. And I remember the season with the mother turkey and her poults. She decided my top step was a perfect protected place to rest with them. Since that was my main way in and out, I had to find an awkward detour for a few days through a neighbor’s yard with my dog in tow.
And of course, I know the Steller’s jay is on my list today because a pair has come almost every day to drink and bathe at the clay bird bath hanging outside my window. These jays have outsized personalities for their small bodies. They’re members of the Corvidae family along with crows, ravens, and magpies. And Steller? German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin named the jay in 1788 after another German naturalist, Georg Wilhelm Steller, the first European to record the jay in 1741.
15 minutes. That’s all it takes to participate. This instruction list will tell you everything you need to know. You can start entering your bird lists at midnight local time on the first day of the count (that’s today!) from anywhere in the world.
Meanwhile, food for thought (and catalysts for conversation)
The use of facial recognition and surveillance technology in schools and on college campuses is an essential topic for family conversations about technology. Here are a few articles to catalyze conversation. Would your teen want to attend a college like Syracuse University? Syracuse U is using tracking systems to monitor students’ academic performance, analyze their conduct, and assess their mental health. The Washington Post article below gives a picture of student life on a campus employing campus-tracking systems. The adoption of such technologies is happening quickly in education. It’s important to be aware, think through the issues, and consider your own points of view so you don’t just slide down the slippery slope, or get taken by surprise.
- “Facial Recognition Moves Into a New Front: Schools“—a district in New York has adopted the technology in the name of safety. Opponents cite privacy and bias concerns. New York Times.
- Colleges are turning students’ phones into surveillance machines, tracking the locations of hundreds of thousands. Washington Post.
- New Advocacy Campaign Calls for Banning Facial Recognition on College Campuses. Edsurge.
As always, thank you for reading. I love hearing from readers. If you participate in the bird count, or if you don’t, let me know. And I’d love to hear your thoughts on campus tracking and facial recognition in schools. What do your teenagers think?
