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Jim:
Yes, doesn't everyone? It is really a very neat activity, especially for youngsters who are interested in birds or developing an interest in birds. They get to report their sightings on the Internet and get instant feedback on the results. Additionally, they can track the sightings of other birders in their zip code, in the state and across the country. Additionally, you can look at past year's count results.
Those just starting to observe birds begin to learn how to record information on sightings and report results. They learn, and they are having fun, as they do it. The best technique is to have them report birds by the highest number of that species that they see in one field of view during the time that they were observing. This eliminates over counts. For example, I saw 23 Black-capped Chickadees during my 30 minutes of observation but 6 Black-capped Chickadees was the highest number I saw in one field of view simultaneously, so I report 6 Black-capped Chickadees, and so forth.
They only need watch an area for 15-30 minutes at a time per day and report the results. It can be the backyard feeder, the yard, a spot at a local park, wherever they determine they wish to count. They only need to continue that same area throughout the weekend, once per day.
I recently met with Dr. David Bonter, Ph.D., in Atlanta. He is the Leader of Project Feeder Watch for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Our meeting was to discuss this years planning for Project Feeder Watch and past results. My company is a Project feeder Watch sponsor. Cornell is also sponsoring a similar program for schools called appropriately, Project Classroom Feeder Watch.
The information gained by Cornell from citizen scientists is very beneficial for tracking bird trends, irruption's and so forth. It is different from Christmas Bird Counts in that it focuses on birds that typically visit feeders.
Enjoy counting the birds.
Bill Fenimore
Wild Bird Center |