Climate Watch
Tuesday, May 6 • 6:00pm – 7:30pm
Elmwood Park Zoo – Canopy Gardens Hall
Climate Watch is an important community science project started by the National Audubon Society to understand how birds are reacting to climate change and to test our climate models. During the training, you’ll learn how to identify species such as White-breasted Nuthatch, Eastern Bluebirds, and Eastern Towhee, and will be taught the Climate Watch methodologies you’ll need to know for data collection and to report your findings. You’ll also be able to choose your Climate Watch location(s) from the map we’ll provide. Carey Wentz, the John James Audubon Center’s Bird Care Coordinator, in partnership with education staff at EPZ, will lead this exciting training session.
This event is free to attend, but registration is required.
Register Today!
Great Backyard Bird Count
Friday, February 14 • 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Saturday, February 14 • 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Join educators as we participate in the 28th annual Great Backyard Bird Count! This interactive experience is perfect for bird lovers of all ages and skill levels! Participants will identify and count local birds in order to help create a real-time snapshot of where they are migrating and living. The Great Backyard Bird Count takes place across the country, and helps avian researchers gather information to better protect wild birds for the future! This program is FREE, but registration is required. If you plan to explore the zoo after the program, zoo admission is required.
Great Backyard Bird Count
Friday, February 14 • 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Saturday, February 14 • 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Join educators as we participate in the 28th annual Great Backyard Bird Count! This interactive experience is perfect for bird lovers of all ages and skill levels! Participants will identify and count local birds in order to help create a real-time snapshot of where they are migrating and living. The Great Backyard Bird Count takes place across the country, and helps avian researchers gather information to better protect wild birds for the future! This program is FREE, but registration is required. If you plan to explore the zoo after the program, zoo admission is required.
Why Should We Count Birds?
As we grow closer to February’s “Great Backyard Bird Count,” it’s easy to wonder about the importance of counting birds. How can something so simple really make a difference for the habitats and livelihood of birds? Can an individual really help out thousands of birds colonies around the country? Short answer: YES!
How can counting birds make a difference?
Scientists, conservationists, and bird enthusiasts can all gain a lot from the data reflected in the Great Backyard Bird Count. Especially given the fact that they are a flighted animal, numbers on bird populations are always changing. There’s little chance that one small group of scientists could accurately keep track of all of the changing bird patterns throughout a year. That’s where the citizen-scientists come in! The more data that comes in, the easier it is for scientists to track patterns and similarities across the board for these bird species. This data helps them answer important questions on a variety of subjects, including the ones below:
- Climate change and how it affects populations
- Habitat locations
- Migration patterns
- Bird diseases
- Bird diversity in rural, suburban, and urban areas
What is the Great Backyard Bird Count?
According to the official website: “Launched in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, the Great Backyard Bird Count was the first online citizen-science project to collect data on wild birds and to display results in near real-time. Now, more than 160,000 people of all ages and walks of life worldwide join the four-day count each February to create an annual snapshot of the distribution and abundance of birds.”
Great Backyard Bird Count at EPZ
Register for a free and interactive bird-counting session at the zoo with our education department! Learn more here!
Written by: Ali Chiavetta
Source: GBBC website