Do you love the great outdoors? Citizen Science lets you deepen your relationship with nature while helping to protect it at the same time. If you’re a keen observer who wants to make a difference, it could be for you!

Citizen Scientists include people of all ages, skill levels and walks of life who gather data as they explore the natural world. Participants in a given project can number in the hundreds or thousands and cover a wide geographic area, so their submissions create a large body of data that is valuable to scientists.

This method of crowdsourcing data is gaining momentum, with projects being pursued on an astonishing variety of topics. Birds are among the most popular subjects. They are found almost everywhere, and many are active in the same times and places as humans, making them relatively easy to observe. Birds are also important ecosystem indicators, so keeping tabs on them helps us understand what is happening in the environment as well.

Want to give Citizen Science a try? Bird Studies Canada, our country’s leading science-based bird conservation organization, offers a range of exciting projects you can participate in no matter where you live in Canada. Check out these options:

Project FeederWatch: Count birds at your feeder between November and April. While more is better, the amount of time you observe is up to you. Results contribute to our understanding of winter bird populations.

Great Backyard Bird Count: Count birds at a location near you for 15 minutes, or as long as you like, over an annual four-day period. Take part February 17-20, 2017 and help create a snapshot of where the birds are.

Nocturnal Owl Survey: Are you a night owl? Listen and find out “who” is calling along a quiet road near you. Surveys are conducted during a single evening in spring.

Canadian Lakes Loon Survey: How are pressures from humans impacting this well-loved species and its habitat? Monitor loons from June to August to help find out, and be a steward of your favourite lake.

Project NestWatch: Find out who’s nesting in your neighbourhood and watch bird families grow up during this spring and summer program.

Christmas Bird Count: This program has been running for 117 years, making it the longest-running Citizen Science project in North America. Be part of a team counting as many birds as possible on the designated date for your area between December 14 and January 5. There are also counts especially for kids.

IBA Caretaker program: Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) have special significance to the species that live and visit there. Monitoring bird populations is just one of the ways you can help protect important habitat as an IBA Caretaker.

The national programs listed above are just some of the opportunities available through Bird Studies Canada. Visit birdscanada.org/volunteer to explore other programs in your area, and join a team of over 40,000 Citizen Scientists across Canada!

By Ellen Jakubowski, Bird Studies Canada
Photo Credit: Gregor Beck