Birding with a Purpose

If you participated in a Christmas Bird Count, hung feeders in your back yard, or created suitable bird habitat and nest boxes in your yard then you are "birding with a purpose." Many people participate in these projects for their own enjoyment, for conservation, and to provide scientists with valuable information.

Spring Birdathon. Similar to a "walk-a-thon", our Spring Birdathon is one of our most important fundraisers. Participants form teams or join one of our prearranged guided teams, gather pledges, and then count bird species during a specified time in March and April. People who raise the most money win valuable prizes that are given away at the free awards dinner. Please join us and you will find out how fun and easy it is.

Christmas Bird Count. The annual Christmas Bird Count, sponsored by the National Audubon Society, is the oldest and largest wildlife survey in the world. For more than 100 years, birders at all levels joined together to count bird species in a predefined circle. SCVAS coordinates an impressive four counts in December plus one in June. Check our bird counts schedule.

BirdSource, Birding with a Purpose. BirdSource is a partnership between citizens and scientists that is designed and managed by the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. It "offers the estimated 60 million Americans who enjoy watching birds the opportunity to record and share their counts of birds online. Through extensive citizen participation, BirdSource is becoming a powerful new tool for bird conservation and education."

Great Backyard Bird Count. A joint project of National Audubon and Cornell, the Great Backyard Bird Count takes place in late February each year. It is a fun and educational way for the thousands of people to give scientists a snapshot of North American bird populations. Participants are asked to spend at least 15 minutes counting and recording birds that they see in their backyards, a local park, or other natural area, and submit the results online. Results help ornithologists determine how bird populations are coping with winter weather, where certain species are spending the winter, and whether species of concern are increasing or decreasing in numbers.

Cavity Nesters Recovery Program. SCVAS's CNRP involves many volunteers in Santa Clara County who establish and monitor nest box trails for cavity nesting birds. During the breeding season, these boxes are checked weekly for parasitism, predation, number of eggs, nestlings, and number of young fledged. Then at the end of the nesting season, volunteers submit their results to us. We compile these results for the county and submit them to interested scientists.

Last modified on January 2010.