Great+Backyard+Bird+Walk

Great Backyard Bird Count Bird Walk Location: Prairie Ridge  February 2018 At this meeting, I got to learn about what a career observer does down at Prairie Ridge. This eco-station at Prairie Ridge, which was founded in 2004 has been a part of the environment that has interacted with about 5,000 birds and about 90 species. At Prairie Ridge, observers must continuously and consistently keep track of these birds; at least three days a week, they must go outside for a set number of hours (2-3) to track the number of birds that fly over the area (flyovers). Typically, they track breedings, markings, and capture data to better understand the movement and reproduction of these species. Although there weren’t many birds at the feeders because of the weather, we were able to hear and identify many different species of birds in the woods. I’m glad that events like these help the general public gain an appreciation for nature. This is one of my first times being educated on the beauty of nature through a nature walk, and I’m glad that I participated and hope to have this opportunity again in the future. This presentation helped me better understand population dynamics and human-environment interaction—which we learned about in APES. Besides being a fun activity, this helped me gain a new appreciation and understanding of the pragmatic role that birds serve their respective ecosystems.