MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — The West Virginia Botanic Garden hosted a bird watching event as part of the annual Great Backyard Bird Count on Saturday, inviting community members to contribute to a global citizen science effort focused on bird populations and biodiversity.
The Great Backyard Bird Count is an international initiative founded by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society. The program encourages bird watchers of all experience levels to observe and report bird sightings, helping scientists better understand bird behavior, distribution and long-term population trends.
“We had a really good turnout of birders that were able to get together and share their passion and also share some of that data and contribute to science this weekend on this Valentine’s Day,” the Environmental Educator at the WV Botanic Garden Leah Swift said.
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During the local program, Swift guided participants in identifying birds and led the group in submitting an official report of species observed to the global count database.
“So, by the end of the count, we had 16 different species, we had both types of chickadees, so our Carolina’s and our Black Capped, some Gold Finches, Turkey vultures, a Raven. We saw all kinds of species out there today, a Blue Bird, so they are definitely out even though it’s February and it’s a little cold outside today,” Swift added.
Organizers said the data collected during the count contributes to ongoing research on bird biodiversity and conservation efforts worldwide.
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