Enjoy bird-watching? Volunteer for an important survey.

 

If you enjoy bird-watching, you might be interested in participating in the annual North American Breeding Bird Survey. The NBBS website states, “Each spring over 2500 skilled amateur birders and professional biologists volunteer to participate in the North American BBS.”

The purpose of the survey is “to track the status and trends of North American bird populations.” This knowledge is useful for establishing avian conservation priorities.

Just so you know, a good level of skill and commitment is required of participants. Requirements include:

1. Access to suitable transportation to complete a survey.
2. Good hearing and eyesight.
3. The ability to identify all breeding birds in the area by sight and sound. Knowledge of bird songs is extremely important, because most birds counted on these surveys are singing males.

And you’ll need time in your schedule. This isn’t about sitting by your window noting the birds at your feeder, but being assigned to a travel route to record specific observations.

If this sounds like something you’d like to do, go to the North American Breeding Bird Survey website for more information. You might find a way to become involved in one of the most important conservation efforts.