This is a project for skilled birders. Volunteer observers must possess excellent bird identification skills by sight or by sound, and be capable of identifying the majority of songbird species that breed in Vermont forests. They must also be capable of hiking on variable terrain, often without trails, and navigating with GPS and/or map and compass. Take our Forest Bird ID Quiz to see If you’ve got what it takes to participate.
The total time commitment is approximately 6-8 hours total during June and July. Because this is a long-term monitoring program, we are most interested in participants who can make a multi-year commitment to the project.
Volunteer Duties: Visit your site on two separate mornings in June and conduct 5 10-minute point counts of birds along a predetermined route. Surveys begin at 5 am so being functional before dawn is also a prerequisite! Each survey will take approximately 2 hours (including hiking to and from your vehicle and between points) and you can expect to spend another 1-1.5 hours to enter the data online before August 1st.
Currently we have vacancies at four of our 30 study sites in Vermont: May Pond in Barton (Northeast Kingdom), Sugar Hollow in Pittsford (Rutland area), Steam Mill Brook WMA in Stannard (North of St. Johnsbury), and Concord Woods in North Concord (St. Johnsbury area).
Descriptions and maps of the study areas can be found here.
Looking for an easier challenge? Consider VCE’s Mountain Birdwatch, which features a smaller suite of just 10 bird species and a simple protocol. Plus, in Mountain Birdwatch you’ll reach some of the region’s highest and most striking places.
Birders who can’t quite find the time for either project can still contribute valuable data on bird abundance and distribution. While birding (even casually) here in the Green Mountain State, add your sightings to Vermont eBird. Or if you’re outside of Vermont, you can send your sightings to the national eBird site (which includes Vermont data). Thanks!
