Modified: January 6, 2010
Become a citizen scientist!
Citizen scientists provide eyes and ears to ornithologists around the globe while engaging people in science and conservation. Citizen science efforts range from a global to a local scale. Data has helped assess threats to avian populations, document geographic variation amongst species, produce management guidelines, and advocate for the protection of essential habitat. Here are some opportunities to become a citizen- ornithologist in Fairbanks and beyond!
Wintering Rusty Blackbirds in Alaska
Rusty Blackbird populations have declined by 90% since 1966. This songbird was once found throughout the vast boreal wetlands. Scientists are unsure if their survivorship troubles are on the breeding grounds, in the wintering areas, or both. ABO has been gathering data on the breeding ecology of Alaska’s Rusty Blackbirds in spring and summer, and now we would like your help in collecting information on wintering Rustys.
Recent findings suggest that there may be two breeding populations in Alaska; eastern boreal and western boreal birds. We had thought that all Rustys wintered in the southeastern United States, but we have received reports of Rustys in Seward and Homer during the winter. Documenting the number of Rustys overwintering here in Alaska is an important piece of this puzzle, and you can help! Report your winter Rusty Blackbird sightings. Be alert for color-banded birds. We have placed color bands on nesting birds and sightings of these birds would indicate that birds from Alaska may not travel all the way to the southeastern US to spend the winter.
Rusty Blackbirds are dark birds and the reddish-brown edges on their feathers in winter give them a “rusty” appearance. Both sexes have bright yellow eyes. They are slightly smaller than Robins and are found in wetland areas. Some people say their call reminds them of a rusty gate. When you see a winter Rusty, make note of the date, time, and location. Record how many birds you see and if any of them are banded. You may see birds with only a single silver band or ones that have 3 color-bands and a single silver band. If you see a color-banded bird make note of the color combination, reading from top to bottom of the leg. Be sure to note what colors are on which leg. Sometimes bands are hard to see and any information you can record is of value. Report your sightings to ABO via our web site (“Recent Sightings” page) or by sending them to “birds AT alaskabird dot org” You can also mail them to us at 418 Wedgewood Dr Fairbanks, AK 99701 or call us at 907-451-7159. Go here to download a report form.
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Migrating Magpies?
Track the reported locations of magpies north of the Alaska Range here.
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Participate in ABO science from the comfort of your own home!
Join Fairbanks Feeder Count!
Scientists and bird watchers can learn a lot just by knowing where birds are. Bird populations are dynamic and Fairbanks FeederCount helps us document winter bird population trends in the Fairbanks area. FeederCount is a citizen science project that relies on bird feeding enthusiasts in the Fairbanks area. Participants record the maximum number of each species that visit their feeders on three designated days during the winter (in November, December, & March). This provides a snapshot of the winter avian community. We have compiled an amazing amount of data over the project’s 23 year history. The graphs below illustrate a few of our findings. In the first graph we can see the cyclic nature of Redpoll populations in the area. When we remove Redpolls, we can see the annual overwinter attrition (mortality) of all other species. The graph belowillustrates the number of Black-capped Chickadees over time. We can see an interesting trend if we compare the data from 1986-2002 with the data from 2004-2009. Although there is no difference in the number of chickadees at feeders in November during both time periods, there are significantly more chickadees in March during the period 2004-2009 (T-test, P<0.01). This suggests better overwinter survival.
The dates for 2009-10 are: November 14, December 12, & March 6. Download a data sheet and instructions.
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Have you seen birds with deformed bills at your feeders?
photos by Dave Shaw
Your sightings of deformed bill birds will help build a database that may lead researchers to the cause of these deformities. These birds have been reported in the Anchorage Bowl since the early 90s and have only recently appeared in the Interior. All information is important in solving this intriguing biological puzzle.
The United States Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center has compiled the results of their research on this phenomena. Go here to learn about affected species, possible causes, effects on the birds.
For a recipe for a nutritionally balanced recipe that you might be interested in offering go here.
to report a deformed bill bird go to:
http://alaska.usgs.gov/science/biology/landbirds/beak_deformity/observerreport.html
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Thanksgiving Bird Count
Count birds within a 15-foot area for one hour on Thanksgiving Day. Visit www.utahbirds.org/cbc/ThanksgBirdCount.htm for information and a count form.
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Christmas Bird Count (CBC)
The CBC database contains more than a century of data on early- winter bird populations across the Americas. Visit www.audubon.org/Bird/cbc/ for general information or www.arcticaudubon.org/cbc.html for information on the Fairbanks count, December 19, 2009.
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Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Visit www.birds.cornell.edu and click on citizen science for a list of projects from feeder counts to nest box surveys and more!
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The Great Backyard Bird Count
This four- day event creates a real-time snapshot of birds’ locations across the continent. February 12 – 15, 2010. Visit www.birdsource.org/gbbc/.
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eBird
An on-line program to manage your own bird checklists while documenting the presence/absence of species and relative abundance throughout the continent. Visit http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
