As many as 100 million people worldwide (and about 46 million in the United States alone) observe wild birds as a hobby. Much of today's interest in observing birds can be credited to a single man: the late artist and ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson. Peterson published his landmark book A Field Guide to the Birds in 1934. The book enabled untrained enthusiasts to readily identify birds from a distance, based on "field marks." These prominent features and patterns could be seen even while birds winged past overhead. Before that, most ornithologists collected specimens with a shotgun and studied the birds in their hands.
Peterson's simple system of identification initiated a revolution in backyard bird study. Instead of examining dead specimens, ornithologists began studying the day-to-day behavior of living birds. Armed with their "Peterson," amateur birders could now identify the birds they saw and could understand their behavior. Little wonder that Roger Tory Peterson's landmark field guide has sold more than 7.5 million copies. It remains the bible of modern birding.
To many enthusiasts, birding is more than just a hobby. Perhaps only in ornithology are amateurs so important to the advancement of a discipline's scientific knowledge. Each year, tens of thousands of amateur ornithologists regularly contribute to the field. They assist scientists involved in programs to study avian population shifts, breeding success, mortality, migration routes, and other crucial information.
One of the oldest of these "cooperative research" programs is the Christmas Bird Count, sponsored by the National Audubon Society. Since 1900, as many as 50,000 people per year record the total number of birds of each species they see during a specified period in late December. This information is used to monitor the changes of wintering populations throughout North America. It also helps scientists keep track of population trends.
Another Audubon Society program is the Breeding Bird Census, begun in 1937. This census tracks the number of breeding pairs of various species on study sites. The sites vary in size from 10 to 400 acres (4 to 162 hectares). About 2,000 "advanced" birders participate. Each is able to identify local species by sight and by song. They make at least eight visits to each site during the breeding season. Their observations help ornithologists understand regional population trends and habitat requirements.
One of the longest-running bird-population studies in the world is the North American Breeding Bird Survey. It occurs each spring, during the peak nesting season, and is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. About 2,500 advanced birders throughout North America participate. The volunteers each drive a 24.5-mile (39.4-kilometer) length of country road. They stop every 0.5 mile (0.8 kilometer) to record every bird they see and hear within a 0.25-mile (0.4-kilometer) radius. Since the 1960s, the Breeding Bird Survey information has provided ornithologists of the Western Hemisphere with important data about bird-population trends. Such information has aided scientists in recognizing declines of many bird species that nest in North America but migrate to Central and South America for the winter.
Several other volunteer programs are organized by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. For Cornell's Project FeederWatch, volunteers keep records of the numbers and species of birds that visit their feeders throughout the winter.
Like many other pursuits, bird-watching has embraced the Internet. In 1997, the Cornell Laboratory and the Audubon Society partnered to launch BirdSource (www.birdsource.org). This Web site provides the results of the annual Christmas Bird Count, the Breeding Bird Survey, and Project FeederWatch. The site also gives amateur birdwatchers the opportunity to report sightings during other times of the year. For instance, since 1998, BirdSource has sponsored the Great Backyard Bird Count. In this annual survey, participants count birds they see in their backyard or other areas and send in their findings.
In 2002, Cornell and Audubon launched eBird, a digital data network. The eBird network uses crowdsourcing for its data collection. Volunteer "citizen scientists" use smartphone apps to enter their field observations. Originally designed for sightings in the Western Hemisphere, the network was expanded in 2010 to cover the entire globe. From the amassed data, ornithologists have gained new insights into bird populations and movements. BirdCast—another project at the Cornell lab—combines the eBird data with weather data to forecast bird migration patterns.
Hundreds of thousands of volunteer birders throughout the world take part in these and other ornithological events. Millions of others simply take pleasure in watching chickadees, finches, and cardinals flitting through trees and landing on feeders stocked with sunflower seeds and suet. Armed with binoculars and field guides, they discover that nature is alive and well in trees, shrubs, ponds, and meadows—even in their own backyards.
Peterson's simple system of identification initiated a revolution in backyard bird study. Instead of examining dead specimens, ornithologists began studying the day-to-day behavior of living birds. Armed with their "Peterson," amateur birders could now identify the birds they saw and could understand their behavior. Little wonder that Roger Tory Peterson's landmark field guide has sold more than 7.5 million copies. It remains the bible of modern birding.
To many enthusiasts, birding is more than just a hobby. Perhaps only in ornithology are amateurs so important to the advancement of a discipline's scientific knowledge. Each year, tens of thousands of amateur ornithologists regularly contribute to the field. They assist scientists involved in programs to study avian population shifts, breeding success, mortality, migration routes, and other crucial information.
One of the oldest of these "cooperative research" programs is the Christmas Bird Count, sponsored by the National Audubon Society. Since 1900, as many as 50,000 people per year record the total number of birds of each species they see during a specified period in late December. This information is used to monitor the changes of wintering populations throughout North America. It also helps scientists keep track of population trends.
Another Audubon Society program is the Breeding Bird Census, begun in 1937. This census tracks the number of breeding pairs of various species on study sites. The sites vary in size from 10 to 400 acres (4 to 162 hectares). About 2,000 "advanced" birders participate. Each is able to identify local species by sight and by song. They make at least eight visits to each site during the breeding season. Their observations help ornithologists understand regional population trends and habitat requirements.
One of the longest-running bird-population studies in the world is the North American Breeding Bird Survey. It occurs each spring, during the peak nesting season, and is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. About 2,500 advanced birders throughout North America participate. The volunteers each drive a 24.5-mile (39.4-kilometer) length of country road. They stop every 0.5 mile (0.8 kilometer) to record every bird they see and hear within a 0.25-mile (0.4-kilometer) radius. Since the 1960s, the Breeding Bird Survey information has provided ornithologists of the Western Hemisphere with important data about bird-population trends. Such information has aided scientists in recognizing declines of many bird species that nest in North America but migrate to Central and South America for the winter.
Several other volunteer programs are organized by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. For Cornell's Project FeederWatch, volunteers keep records of the numbers and species of birds that visit their feeders throughout the winter.
Like many other pursuits, bird-watching has embraced the Internet. In 1997, the Cornell Laboratory and the Audubon Society partnered to launch BirdSource (www.birdsource.org). This Web site provides the results of the annual Christmas Bird Count, the Breeding Bird Survey, and Project FeederWatch. The site also gives amateur birdwatchers the opportunity to report sightings during other times of the year. For instance, since 1998, BirdSource has sponsored the Great Backyard Bird Count. In this annual survey, participants count birds they see in their backyard or other areas and send in their findings.
In 2002, Cornell and Audubon launched eBird, a digital data network. The eBird network uses crowdsourcing for its data collection. Volunteer "citizen scientists" use smartphone apps to enter their field observations. Originally designed for sightings in the Western Hemisphere, the network was expanded in 2010 to cover the entire globe. From the amassed data, ornithologists have gained new insights into bird populations and movements. BirdCast—another project at the Cornell lab—combines the eBird data with weather data to forecast bird migration patterns.
Hundreds of thousands of volunteer birders throughout the world take part in these and other ornithological events. Millions of others simply take pleasure in watching chickadees, finches, and cardinals flitting through trees and landing on feeders stocked with sunflower seeds and suet. Armed with binoculars and field guides, they discover that nature is alive and well in trees, shrubs, ponds, and meadows—even in their own backyards.
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