The National Audubon Society and Cornell University Lab of Ornithology are coordinating the 2013 Great Backyard Bird Count study for the United States and Canada.

This joint project is a free event that gives all bird lovers and nature fans an opportunity to discover the wonders of nature and also contribute to conservation.

Last year thousands of participants were able to log over 600 species of birds in backyards, parks, woodlots and school yards. The date for this year’s GBBC is Feb. 15-18.

It only requires 15 minutes of your time at a minimum and a report that is filed at www.birdsource.org/gbbc.

It’s great to have a school project that starts on a Friday and ends on Monday, our President’s Day holiday. Every science teacher would have a wonderful hand on or should I say eyes on the birds in their area.

With the addition of using a computer website in a North American Study, students would have a world class educational science experience. Using both books and computer sites as a reference, many students would be exposed to the fascinating world of birds and wildlife.

At our house, the observation and identifying of birds is a daily occurrence and we have identified numerous species that have provided us with hours of entertainment.

I often hear wonderful stories from people who approach me in the community about their experiences with wildlife.

One neighbor, Kate & Dan Dellich, told me of their son John’s experience with a Ruffed Grouse.

The Ruffed Grouse is a magnificent game bird that is a tremendous challenge to bird hunters. The thunderous flush of a grouse surprises most hunters who have ever gone after them in the thickets and grapevines of rural areas.

It appears that John was riding his quad near their farm in northern Butler County and stopped to survey a trail ahead of him. He left the quad idle as he sat there and was surprised to hear the flush of a grouse nearby.

However, instead of putting distance between himself and John, this grouse came closer to him. To John’s surprise, the grouse landed on the handle bars of his bike.

He was even more surprised by the grouse walking up his arm, then shoulder and finally on his head ... sitting there quietly.

For whatever reason, this special grouse was strongly attracted to John and the sound of his quad. This occurred several times and John even took some pictures of the grouse.

Strangely enough, other friends and family tried to duplicate the phenomena to only fail at the attempts. I believe it is the specific sound of John’s motor pulsing that has lured this grouse so calmly to him.

Either that or John might be a special grouse whisperer that speaks the language of the state bird!

• I had a special treat over the Christmas Holiday as the late muzzleloader season comes for the primitive flintlock hunters. I had no reason to want to harvest another deer as we had plenty of venison and were sharing with many friends and neighbors.

A family that attends church with us shared their successes and not so lucky tales of the hunting season with me. The youngest son Jake had hunted diligently from archery through rifle season with no luck.

Jake was looking for his first deer and as a novice hunter I felt it was my duty to have Jake, his brother Nick and their dad George tramp about Penn’s Woods with flintlocks.

They at first didn’t know, but relented when the family wanted some more venison.

I offered some on-site instruction and discussed the technical aspects and safety cautions of muzzleloader hunting.

New terms and experiences would await them, I assured. Two T/C Flintlocks, powder, balls and fresh flints were presented to start them out.

I anxiously awaited word of their success or failure and dad has promised me that the youngest, Jake Pry has a tale to share with us.

‘Til we meet again, keep the wind in your face and the sun at your back!