Everywhere you turn, it seems there are birders participating in citizen-science projects, following scientific protocols, logging what they see, turning in the data and watching the trends.
The Puget Sound Seabird Survey, managed by the Seattle Audubon Society, started in 2008-09 with about 40 volunteers and 60 sites. For last winter’s survey, there were 160 volunteers and 135 sites including two sites in Edmonds and one in Mukilteo.
Recruiting volunteers for next winter starts in early summer, said Toby Ross, coordinator for the PSSS.
“Birding is one of the fastest growing outdoors activities. There’s lots of interest in doing surveys, especially in water-oriented communities,” Ross said.
SAS trains its volunteers in the protocol for the survey.
“But we don’t teach how to identify the birds,” Ross said. “You need to come with understanding about how to identify seabirds.”
Next winter will be the 10th for the survey, bringing the data collection to a point where some conclusions might be drawn.
It takes years to see a pattern because there are natural variations of species, abundance, weather conditions and other factors. The survey is now at a point to assess its decade of data and perhaps see patterns.
There is no expiration date for the survey. “As long as seabirds are here and threatened, we probably want to continue the survey,” Ross said.
If you have questions, contact Ross, tobyr@seattleaudubon.org.
Birds and the web: According to www.meetup.com, there are more than 26 million members in 244,500 meetup groups covering countless topics in 180 countries, which makes it the world’s largest network of local groups.
Meetup’s mission is to help the world self-organize around almost any interest, an action that can help people change their personal world or the larger world.
One group is the North Sound Birders, which can be reached at www.meetup.com/north-sound-birders.
Pilchuck Audubon Society heard of a meetup chapter, the South Sound Birders, and decided to generate a North Sound version, according to Lindsey Cramer, who handles website duties.
Membership in PAS is not required. The North Sound Birders’ first of 24 meetups was on Oct. 11, 2014.
“There’s more of a social-media aspect to these trips. Each trip can be rated and participants can post photographs and comments. When you schedule a meetup, people can chat (online) before and ask questions to the organizers about logistics,” Cramer said. “One nice feature is that members of the meetup can suggest events. It’s cool to get a group. If three or more people decide to go, it becomes a meetup. It opens it up to a broader community.”
A meetup might be a short or all-day birding walk, a class on creating a backyard natural space or a weekend trip.
“The most popular trips are outings with an experienced leader,” Cramer said.
Not all meetups are bird-related, and some trips are away from North Puget Sound. Trip organizers post information about outings, sometimes including the type and difficulty of terrain, what to bring, and carpooling information. You can also tell how many people have signed up.
Upcoming PAS meetups include:
Weekend bird walk to Seabeck-Guillimot Cove Nature Preserve, June 4.
Family Picnic and Bird Walk, Scriber Lake Park, June 12
Butterflies of Central Washington, July 10.
Freebies: Put away your wallet. Washington parks will offer two free days, June 4 (National Trails Day) and June 11 (National Get Outdoors Day). No Discover Pass is required.
Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.
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