WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) — A new project to study Wisconsin’s birds kicked off this weekend. It’s the Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas II. The project is sponsored by the Department of Natural Resources, and is the largest avian citizen science project attempted in Wisconsin.
DNR spokesperson Erin Gordon says they are looking for volunteers to help watch birds, and write down what they see. “They’re going to go out every year during the breeding season, and they’re going to record and observe birds all across the State of Wisconsin. This really helps them to kind of set their conservation efforts and and management planning into the future.”
This is the second time a bird atlas has been done in Wisconsin, and Gordon says this can help confirm what birds are in the state. “A lot has changed over twenty years in this project. It’s really going to help us solidify what changes have occurred, and what can we confirm and we can’t.”
Gordon says they are looking for a lot of volunteers, and volunteers don’t need a lot of birdwatching experience. “You don’t have to be an expert birder. We’ll give you all of the tools that you’ll need. If you want to sign up to survey a block or to volunteer to be a part of it at all, I would recommend going to wsobirds.org/atlas, and you can sign up there.”
Again, the best way to get involved in the Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas project is to sign up online.
