By Andy McCormick

There are bird surveys being conducted in Washington and they are recruiting volunteers to help count birds. Most of these surveys provide training and encourage new birders to join. Here are a few surveys to consider.

Climate Watch Survey – Eastside Audubon Society

The National Audubon Society is developing a twice-a-year survey to test their computer model on the loss of bird habitat due to climate change. In the Eastside Audubon service area we will survey one species, the Red-breasted Nuthatch. It is easy to identify by sight and sound. We will need six people to survey on a date between May 15 and June 15, and again between January 15 and February 15. We’ll be in the Kirkland and Redmond area and have two teams each surveying six sites. If you are interested contact Andy McCormick at amccormick@eastsideaudubon.org.

Oxbow Farm Bird Survey – Oxbow Farm

Oxbow Farm monitors bird presence and diversity in several habitats at the farm to understand the ways that farmland and restored riparian forests support bird life. Each spring and summer, they conduct five rounds of point count surveys, one per month in April, May, June, July and August. Volunteers must be able to identify common birds of Western Washington by sight and by ear. If interested, please contact Matthew Distler, Conservation Program Manager at matt@oxbow.org.

Most monitors work in groups of 2 or 3 and are able to finish their plots in a single morning per month. Oxbow will provide an orientation to the property, datasheets, maps of sampling stations, and loaner binoculars if needed, along with a great debt of gratitude (and veggies from the fields, depending on what is in season). Oxbow Farm & Conservation Center is a 501c(3) non-profit with a mission to inspire people to eat healthy, sustainably grown food and to steward our natural resources for future generations.

Puget Sound Seabird Survey (PSSS) – Seattle Audubon Society

Seattle Audubon Society has been monitoring wintering birds in Puget Sound for the past 21 years. Each year they need to recruit new volunteers as some folks move on. The survey is conducted on the first Saturday of the month beginning in October and ending in April. Seattle Audubon provides training and you will work with a team of two to four people on the same survey site all season, so you will have a chance to get to know some seabirds very well. Contact: Andy McCormick at amccormick@eastsideaudubon.org. Andy is the Eastside Audubon liaison to the PSSS.

Wetland Secretive Bird Monitoring and Bird Banding – Puget Sound Bird Observatory

The Wetland Secretive Bird Monitoring Project is beginning its third year of surveying wetland birds with a focus on the American Bittern, Green Heron, Virginia Rail, and Sora. Teams survey one day per month in April, May, and June. This survey is a project of the Puget Sound Bird Observatory (PSBO), which provides training, equipment, supplies, and ongoing support.

PBSO also hosts a bird banding class in August in conjunction with their annual bird banding as part of the national Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program. MAPS is conducted at over 500 banding stations across North America. See their website at http://pugetsoundbirds.org/.

Breeding Bird Survey – Puget Sound Bird Observatory

Don Norman is the new state coordinator of the BBS. He teaches an annual class for anyone interested in helping fill vacancies in Washington State. There are a number of routes available. Contact Don at contact@pugetsoundbirds.org. The BBS is a long-running and important source of information on breeding birds in North America. The data collected are highly valued by researchers in establishing trends in bird breeding and habitat use.