ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Citizen Science: Best Hope for Songbird Survival?

Updated on January 14, 2014
Goldfinches and Mourning Doves visiting some of my backyard bird feeders.
Goldfinches and Mourning Doves visiting some of my backyard bird feeders. | Source

Earlier that day I had decided that my ‘watch’ would begin at 11:00 am, and I logged that starting time on a blank sheet of notebook paper. I wanted to participate all four days, so I added the date at the top of the page. My location was the next entry, and then the temperature and overcast conditions. It was time again to begin my Great Backyard Bird Count, and I knew that data entry needed to be accurate and complete if it was going to be of any help to the researchers.

Male Downy Woodpecker relishing suet.
Male Downy Woodpecker relishing suet. | Source
Blue Jay at the gazebo-style bird feeder.
Blue Jay at the gazebo-style bird feeder. | Source
Black-Capped Chickadees, among others, enjoy the metal mesh bird seed feeders.
Black-Capped Chickadees, among others, enjoy the metal mesh bird seed feeders. | Source

Get Comfy and Start Counting Birds

I grabbed my binoculars and found a comfy spot from which to make my 15 minutes of observation on this cold February day. That’s all I intended to spend counting bird feeder birds that day.

I jotted down each species as I began spotting several of the usual bird feeder suspects. Let’s see: 2 downy woodpeckers, 1 male and 1 female; 6 cute little chickadees—gotta love those little guys; 5 white-breasted nuthatches; 3 gorgeous blue jays; oh, and there’s one of my sweet tufted titmice.

But, wait a minute, what the heck is that little brown bird? That’s not a sparrow, what is it?

Refocusing my binocs revealed a bird I had heard of but never seen before. It was a Common Redpoll! Oh, but there are several more that just flew in, and then more, and then more yet. I counted 35 in that one flock! I was thrilled right down to my knee socks!

Female Common Redpoll fluffed up against the cold air.
Female Common Redpoll fluffed up against the cold air. | Source

Have You Ever Participated in a Citizen Science Project?

See results

Are You a Bird Nerd?

I have to explain something here. If you happen to be a bird nerd like me, then you can skip over this explanation. You know exactly how I felt. But if you are not ‘into birds’, then to a bird lover, seeing a new species is akin to winning the lottery. It’s a happy bolt out of the blue, like Nature just gave you a big hug!

Common Redpolls are small, chatty, and friendly members of the finch family of songbirds. To me they were anything but common as I watched them with delight. The large flocks busied themselves scouring the snow under my bird feeders.

They wore distinctive red caps, and their ebony chins created a sharp contrast to yellow beaks. The males were easy to spot as they proudly sported decorative pink chests! My gratitude to the creator of the Great Backyard Bird Count knew no bounds!

Steep Decline of Bird Species

Over the past 4 decades, many of our birds have been in a steep decline. Some have decreased by as much as 80%. Environmental factors, urban sprawl, modern industrialized farming, wind farms, habitat loss and fragmentation as well as deforestation have all contributed to the disappearance of once common bird species like the Whip-poor-will, Evening Grosbeak, Horned Lark, Greater Scaup, Northern Bobwhite and Ruffed Grouse.

Top 20 Common Birds in Decline: http://birds.audubon.org/species-by-program/cbid

Those initial sightings multiplied threefold in the next several days. My 15 minutes of observation had stretched into several hours, which were broken up between household chores, making meals and checking emails, etc. Every chance I got I eagerly drank in the sights and sounds of these new-to-me gregarious avian visitors.

They happily filled the bare tree branches with cheery chattering, and punctuated the white snow as they investigated every possible morsel of food. I was vigilant about keeping those feeders well filled so as to make my new friends as welcome as possible. I would have been very sad if they had departed before I had the chance to get to know them.


One of the many flocks of Redpolls I happily observed and reported during the GBBC.
One of the many flocks of Redpolls I happily observed and reported during the GBBC. | Source

A Memorable Great Backyard Bird Count

Weed seed heads were quickly ‘shaken, not stirred’ by the energetic invaders. As fast as the seeds fell off the weeds, that’s how fast they retrieved their treasures. I could tell by their happy, tiny trills and constant chet-chet calls that they were having a blast. They seemed to be making a game out of finding food, and as I watched them I secretly wished I could enjoy grocery shopping that much!

I finished all 4 day’s observations, again noting the dates and times in my notebook, along with temperature and weather conditions. This particular GBBC had become one of the most memorable for me, even though I have been participating for many years. My usual winter birdfeeder gang sort of sank into the background in the midst of the Redpoll irruption. Turning in my tallies to the GBBC website was done with great eagerness.

My very short Red Poll video

Goodbye and Come Again!

The Red Polls’ slow departure seemed to ease me into the reality that they would not be with me any longer this year. I knew they couldn’t stay, just like ‘Frosty the Snowman’; but I hoped they’d be back again someday. Somehow these diminutive birds had warmed the winter chill and hastened the demise of what usually seemed like interminably cold months.

Helping Researchers Help Our Birds

Had I not participated in this important citizen science Audubon project, I would have missed this happy experience! Many ordinary people are making extraordinary strides in helping researchers count, map habitats, and determine the health of songbird populations worldwide. This popular yearly event has grown by leaps and bounds.

We as citizen scientists have done so much more than the dedicated scientists and researchers could have accomplished on their own. From the data we have gathered, Audubon and Cornell Lab of Ornithology researchers have been able to effectively craft programs that are geared to help waning worldwide bird populations rebound; and to keep others healthy. Anyone can participate anywhere in the world in the GBBC’s annual event in February.

Project Feederwatch is a program exclusive to North America whereby you can monitor your bird feeders from November through April, and then report your sightings. You will receive a research kit, which contains all you need to know to participate.

This is great fun for people of all ages, from school children to bird clubs, retirees and individuals from all walks of life. Amateur backyard bird observers to experienced devotees are all welcome. The more information we can add to the data bases, the better able our scientists and researchers can serve wild birds everywhere.

Young White-Breasted Nuthatch waiting its turn at the bird feeders.
Young White-Breasted Nuthatch waiting its turn at the bird feeders. | Source

Become a Citizen Scientist

I believe we as citizen scientists have been and will continue to be instrumental in bird survival through the vital individual observations in our own backyards. We are the future of the success of our precious wild birds. Join us in making an enormous difference to our awesome birds!

Connie Smith a/k/a Grandma Pearl
Connie Smith a/k/a Grandma Pearl | Source

'You can create yard and garden habitats that Help Birds Survive and Thrive'

Read more by visiting grandmapearl.hubpages.com; and

Join me at GrandmaPearlsBackporch to discover more about wildlife in general, and birds in particular.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)