By Brian Kluepfel
Sometimes, we really feel powerless to make a dent on the earth’s issues, advanced and overwhelming as they’re.
This yr, nonetheless, in one other little bit of Citizen/Community Science, you can also make a direct contribution to recording hen populations and breeding information in New York State. All you really want is a cell phone and an eBird account.
The compilation of the third version of the New York State Breeding Bird Atlas (NYSBBA) has been underway since 2020, and can end this yr. The first two editions, compiled in 1980 and 2020, respectively, gave us baseline information of species all through the state and an thought within the shifts over time. Now, with one other twenty years of perspective, we’ll have the chance to study much more.
Some examples of species which have misplaced or gained floor within the final atlas embody the red-headed woodpecker, one of many state’s most gorgeous birds. While that one misplaced floor, the Merlin – the small falcon as soon as generally known as the “pigeon hawk” – was first recorded nesting in New York solely in 1992. (They didn’t seem in any respect within the 1980-85 survey.)
It would appear, stated NYSBBA coordinator Julie Hart, that primarily based on eBird information their infiltration from north to south continues, even to Long Island, and we’d probably see “drastic changes in their distribution.”
Under the auspices of the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), our relatively huge state’s 54,000 sq. miles has been divided into six areas, that are then additional sliced into sectors of 9 sq. miles. Saw Mill River Audubon Executive Director Anne Swaim serves as one of many coordinators for the Hudson Region, together with Wendy Tocci of the John Burroughs Natural History Society of Ulster County.
As expertise has shifted quickly because the flip of the century, this would be the first time that eBird information is used. To be a part of NYSBBAIII, simply navigate to Settings and Account in your smartphone and set the portal to “ebird,” after which navigate right down to the New York State Breeding Bird Atlas.
For these of you who haven’t used eBird earlier than, there are some useful tutorials at ebird.org/atlasny.
In reality, there has by no means been larger alternative for non-scientists to be concerned within the assortment of avian information. With the standard Audubon Christmas Counts having simply completed, and the pending 27th annual Great Backyard Bird Count this weekend (Feb. 16-19; discover out extra at www.birdcount.org), birders throughout the globe are making significant contributions to our understanding of the pure world.
Whether your curiosity be scientific, a college venture or simply an appreciation of the aesthetic magnificence and vast number of birds round us, your participation issues. And one thing else? It’s enjoyable.
Brian Kluepfel is a member of Saw Mill River Audubon and a correspondent for the Lonely Planet journey sequence, Birdwatching journal and plenty of different publications. He lives and birds in Ossining.
Examiner Media – Keeping you knowledgeable with professionally-reported native information, options, and sports activities protection.
