A global initiative known as the Great Backyard Bird Count is back and Saskatchewan residents are once again invited to participate.
Sarah Ludlow, Conservation Science Coordinator with the Nature Conservancy of Canada says the idea is to count the number of individuals of each species of bird, while making note of the date, time, time spent watching the birds and their location. She explains the data is used by scientists to look at trends over time, to see if the number of birds are declining or increasing. Ludlow says it also helps to see if the species ranges are changing, if birds are being seen in new areas, or are gone from areas they previously were.
Ludlow says you can participate by looking out your own window, taking a walk in a local park or going out of town to local nature area. She says this time of year in Saskatchewan there is a surprising amount of birds to see. Common birds to see are Black capped chickadees, red and white-breasted nuthatches, hairy and downy woodpeckers, dark-eyed juncos, and if you travel out of town bald eagles or snowy owls can be spotted in the province.
Ludlow adds that this is something that everyone can do, and people don’t need to be experts, suggesting if you can identify even one type of bird that is enough.
The Great Backyard Bird Count is a global activity the continues into Monday. Last year just under 7,000 different types of birds were identified.
