Issue Preview ~Spring 2003

Bird Counting - a hobby that helps science

By Trish Keller

Many of us are bird lovers. We hang up houses for them. We provide water for them to bathe in. We buy special food and fill up the feeder. We might even rig up a contraption to keep the squirrels out of the food meant for our precious birds.

Some bird lovers go even further. Armed with bird books, binoculars, or telescipe, a camera and provisions, hobbyists known as "birders" take to the wild to spot and identify different species of birds.  And throughout the year, these volunteers become citizen scientists who gather information on birds for the Kansas Ornithological Society, the national Audubon Society, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Tom and Sara Shane of Garden City are two such birders. Part of an informal group of bird lovers, they regularly participate in the annual nationwide Christmas Bird Count and the North America Migration Count.

For the full story pick up a copy of the Spring 2003 issue. Click here to find a copy.