BCEC: BIRD CLUB
After the successful completion of BCEC’s scientific data collection work on bird populations this summer, our volunteers were anxious to continue the work of protecting our feathered friends (See HCN June & July 2024).
We learned in our field work this year that most scientific data collection of birds is auditory, not visual! We were inspired to develop our capacity for identifying birds by song. BCEC Bird Groups’ scientific leader Kelly Day suggested we download the Merlin Bird ID App, and we then entered the miraculous auditory landscape of birdsong with our morning coffees. We were all astounded to see huge lists of birds loading into the App when we pressed ‘record’, especially in the early morning hours.
The Merlin App is an excellent tool to supplement bird ID in the field and great to increase learning opportunities for bird enthusiasts. It was developed by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a world-leader in bird science. It’s free and aims to help people answer the question “what’s that bird?!” by identifying individual birdsong. Users can replay recordings and learn more about the species through written information and photos. It’s a great tool for learning, and we encourage you to download it: it’s fun and exciting for the whole family.
It is important to note that the Merlin App is not always 100% accurate with bird ID and sometimes birds even in close range are not detected. However, the app does have the ability to record birds and have trained biologists ID and verify recorded calls later. eBird Mobile is another citizen science App developed by Cornell and managed in Canada with partners Birds Canada.
eBird allows users to find more birds, share sightings and track bird lists. When using eBird, your sightings contribute to hundreds of conservation decisions and peer-reviewed papers, thousands of student projects, and help inform bird research worldwide. While Cornell Lab is staffed by expert scientists and technologists, they depend on more than 5000 citizen-scientists who shared data through eBird to create a database of birdsong and images.
If you’d like to become a citizen-scientist, download the eBird App. And please check out the authority on all things birdy at the Birds Canada website: www.birdscanada.org/ There are so many ways to participate, and to learn.
At BCEC, we value community connection, and acknowledge it as the foundation from which we can meaningfully contribute to protecting the ecosystems and wildlife we value. To foster that connection, we held our inaugural BCEC Bird Club gathering on November 5. Ten enthusiastic bird-lovers of all levels of expertise gathered to ‘chatter’ about birds for 2 hours. We shared favourite bird sightings and stories, learned about specific species, and envisioned the future role and impact of the Bird Group in our community. A common theme, expressed by all, was deep gratitude for living in an intact landscape, coexisting with our avian relatives.
From left to right: Keely Anderson, Katherine Crerar, Ann Sullivan, Peta Stuart, Terrill Gordon, Kelly Day.
The news is not all good for birds in Canada. BCEC members are keen to take action to ensure local bird populations and nesting migratory species survive and thrive here. Birds Canada recently suggested in their Annual Public Meeting (“The State of Birds in Canada”) that we can all take these actions to help protect birds:
- Keep cats indoors, (or in a “catio”, or on-leash when outside)
- Treat windows with FLAP to stop birds hitting them*
- Engage politically: let your MLA know that you expect the government to address underlying causes of bird decline; demand action on bird habitat preservation, and the reduction of chemical use in agriculture, industry and municipalities
- Create/preserve bird habitat by planting bird-friendly plants.**
- Keep dogs on-leash to lessen stress on birdlife
- Engage in citizen science using eBird and volunteering with local ENGOs
Please connect with BCEC at braggcreekenvironmentalcoalition.ca/ if you’d like to volunteer your time, participate in Bird Club, and/or become a member.
*flap.org/stop-birds-from-hitting-windows/
** cwf-fcf.org/en/explore/gardening-for-wildlife/
*** bird.org/home
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