FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jan 23, 2014

CONTACT: David DeDecker

Communications Director

Phone: (269) 721-4190 Fax: (269) 721-4474

Email:

Learn About the Great Backyard Bird Count at Pierce Cedar Creek Institute

Hastings, MI –Backyard birding is a great hobby for all ages. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported more than 50 million Americans participate in bird watching activities last year. The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is a fun and meaningful way to contribute to the monitoring of bird species around the world. In 2013, citizen scientists participated and collected 134,000 reports on more than 34 million birds around the world.

“Bird monitoring programs, like the Great Backyard Bird Count, provide important data that scientists use to monitor what is happening to bird populations,” said Pierce Cedar Creek Institute Program Manager Matt Dykstra. “These programs depend on regular folks to help them collect this data. Bird monitoring programs have also become much easier to do with the online forms. In many instances, data can be entered in the field with a smartphone.”

On Saturday, February 15, Pierce Cedar Creek Institute will hold a program to familiarize participants with the GBBC, how they can contribute to the count, and then spend some time on the Institute trails identifying birds. Birders will be assisted on the trail by members of the Kalamazoo Chapter of Michigan Audubon. After the short birding excursion, participants can warm up in the Institute Visitor Center with hot chocolate as their bird count is entered into the GBBC or eBird.org database.

“Birding can be a wonderful social event, especially with new birders,” said Dykstra. “Going out in a group provides multiple eyes and ears for spotting and identifying birds, and an opportunity to share knowledge and experiences with each other.”

The GBBC is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages and abilities in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of winter bird population. Participants are asked to identify and count birds for as little as 15 minutes on one or more of the four days. The 17th annual GBBC will be held Friday, February 14 through Monday, February 17.

The event is free. To register, visit cedarcreekinstitute.org or call (269) 721-4190.

Pierce Cedar Creek Institute is located south of Hastings at 701 W. Cloverdale Rd, 2.5 miles west of M-37 and 4.5 miles east of M-43. Trails are open to the public, seven days a week from dawn to dusk.

#