Talkin' Birds: The Great Backyard Bird Count

As birds flitted on and off of colorful feeders in a flicker of flapping feathers, and chattered in chirps — punctuated by the occasional trill — a band of birdwatchers offered a cacophony of their own.

"I heard a red-winged blackbird!"

"There's a blue jay!"

"Is that a downy woodpecker?"

With every sighting, Tina Alleva, a Brooklyn resident and volunteer for the , added to the count. She was counting birds, along.