How to Help Birds: Research on bird populations published in fall of 2019 was alarming: 29 percent of all birds in the U.S. and Canada have vanished since 1970, a drop of 2.9 billion birds in our lifetime. In light of such news, Cornell Lab of Ornithology says it's more vital than ever that citizen scientist—like all of us gardeners—monitor their own backyard birds and share their sightings.
Emma Grieg is the leader of Project FeederWatch at Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York, which for more than 30 years has fostered connections between people and birds, and also between birdwatchers and scientists, who benefit from all those extra sets of eyes to help them get a closer look at bird population changes over time. Today's guest, the leader of Cornell Lab’s Project FeederWatch, will tell us more about changing bird populations—not just rare birds but blue jays and juncos and other familiar species—and also about how data from birdwatchers helps, plus best practices for feeding birds this winter and more.
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