Fifteen minutes of your time, on any day from Friday through Monday, on an urban street corner, a suburban backyard, a farm field — anywhere in the world — can make a difference for birds and people. This year's Great Backyard Bird Count is about to begin and even if you don't know the difference between a tufted titmouse and a dark-eyed junco, you can participate and help scientists determine where the birds are. That information, in turn, can help shed light on conditions for people as well. And, besides all that, it's just fun to count birds. "They're so charismatic and they're everywhere," said Becca Rodomsky-Bish, Great Backyard Bird Count project leader for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.