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Bandon library beckons birders
By Steve McCasland, Bandon Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 | No comments posted.
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BANDON — Ameri-Corps volunteer Kelly Balcarczyk needs some local volunteers to help with her community project.
On assignment with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Bandon, Balcarczyk is recruiting potential bird watchers who regularly visit the Bandon Public Library.
“I have to design a community action project that enhances or helps our community in some way,” she explained.
To that end, she’s recruiting people to help with the popular Project FeederWatch. It’s a nationwide citizen science program in which citizens track birds at a feeder station throughout the winter and record the data on a nationwide database. The data is used by ornithologists and other wildlife scientists.
Volunteers need to dedicate as little as 30 minutes a week to watching birds at feeders set up at the library and recording their observations.
“Basically, they just record the number and species of birds observed at the feeders,” Balcarczyk said.
Balcarczyk has a master’s degree in biology and recently finished a year’s internship in eastern Maryland where she taught K-12 students about watersheds and Chesapeake Bay.
On Oct. 20, Balcarczyk set up several feeders and a bird bath outside the library’s north wall. They include two tube-shaped feeders filled with sunflower seeds, a hummingbird feeder with sugar water, a suet feeder with animal fat, nuts and berries, and a tray feeder with sunflower seeds for platform feeders.
Citizens also can start FeederWatch programs at their homes if they prefer.
“At the library, we’re providing the feeders and the food throughout the winter, and there are nice big windows and comfy seating” at the north end of the building, Balcarczyk noted.
Books with photos of common feeder birds will be available to help volunteers identify what they’re seeing. Beginners and potential bird watchers of any age and skill level are welcome to participate.
This year’s Project FeederWatch runs from Nov. 14-April 9. The program had been operating in Canada prior to 1987, when it began in the United States.
“I think it’s a great program because it’s citizen science,” Balcarczyk said. “The community gets hands-on experience in data collection, which connects them with wildlife and gets them excited about conservation issues.”
More information on the program is available online at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw.
— Steve McCasland is a staff writer at the Bandon Western World, which can be found online at http://www.bandonwesternworld.com.
On assignment with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Bandon, Balcarczyk is recruiting potential bird watchers who regularly visit the Bandon Public Library.
“I have to design a community action project that enhances or helps our community in some way,” she explained.
To that end, she’s recruiting people to help with the popular Project FeederWatch. It’s a nationwide citizen science program in which citizens track birds at a feeder station throughout the winter and record the data on a nationwide database. The data is used by ornithologists and other wildlife scientists.
Volunteers need to dedicate as little as 30 minutes a week to watching birds at feeders set up at the library and recording their observations.
“Basically, they just record the number and species of birds observed at the feeders,” Balcarczyk said.
Balcarczyk has a master’s degree in biology and recently finished a year’s internship in eastern Maryland where she taught K-12 students about watersheds and Chesapeake Bay.
On Oct. 20, Balcarczyk set up several feeders and a bird bath outside the library’s north wall. They include two tube-shaped feeders filled with sunflower seeds, a hummingbird feeder with sugar water, a suet feeder with animal fat, nuts and berries, and a tray feeder with sunflower seeds for platform feeders.
Citizens also can start FeederWatch programs at their homes if they prefer.
“At the library, we’re providing the feeders and the food throughout the winter, and there are nice big windows and comfy seating” at the north end of the building, Balcarczyk noted.
Books with photos of common feeder birds will be available to help volunteers identify what they’re seeing. Beginners and potential bird watchers of any age and skill level are welcome to participate.
This year’s Project FeederWatch runs from Nov. 14-April 9. The program had been operating in Canada prior to 1987, when it began in the United States.
“I think it’s a great program because it’s citizen science,” Balcarczyk said. “The community gets hands-on experience in data collection, which connects them with wildlife and gets them excited about conservation issues.”
More information on the program is available online at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw.
— Steve McCasland is a staff writer at the Bandon Western World, which can be found online at http://www.bandonwesternworld.com.
Volunteers needed
What: Project FeederWatch, a program in which volunteers track birds at feeder stations throughout the winter and record the data on a nationwide database.
Why: Ornithologists and other wildlife scientists use the information.
Time involved: about 30 minutes a week.
Recruitment: A meeting to recruit volunteers will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Sprague Room at the Bandon Public Library.
Information: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw.
What: Project FeederWatch, a program in which volunteers track birds at feeder stations throughout the winter and record the data on a nationwide database.
Why: Ornithologists and other wildlife scientists use the information.
Time involved: about 30 minutes a week.
Recruitment: A meeting to recruit volunteers will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Sprague Room at the Bandon Public Library.
Information: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw.
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