Are you interested in how birding can contribute to community science and climate data? If so, Climate Watch may be the right project for you. Project Climate Watch begins May 15th and runs until June 15th. Within that 30 day survey period, volunteers contribute one monitoring day (about 3-4 hours) of their time to complete their survey.

Visit Audubon's Climate Watch webpage to learn more. 

How to Get Started:

Step One: Select from the list of target species. Keep in mind factors such as habitat of your square and ability to identify species by appearance and song.

Step Two: Pick a 10 by 10km square from the Climate Watch map using these instructions.

Step Three: Using the Climate Watch Planner tool pick 12 survey points within your square that would have the best habitat for your target species. Points need to be at least 200m apart.

Step Four: Email Samantha Beck at Audubon Vermont or our local coordinator for Climate Watch, Sarah Hooghuis with any remaining questions you have. 

Survey Protocol:

Now that you have selected a target species, a 10 by 10km square, and 12 survey points within that square, it’s time to get outside and survey! Volunteers will spend 5 minutes at each of the 12 points, recording their target species and other bird species they are able to identify. The more information collected, the better.  Information needed includes:

• Start time, duration, number of observers, latitude and longitude
• Total number of each species (target species and other bird species you are able to identify) that you see or hear within 100 meters of your location, line of sight permitting
• The presence of nest boxes or feeders within the survey area (recorded in comments box if  using eBird)
• Your target species must be recorded on each checklist.  (If using eBird, this must be placed in the comments box and please make sure that your comments are set as “public” so that we can access them
• If using eBird be sure to answer “yes” to the question “Are you submitting a complete checklist of the birds you were able to identify?” to indicate you are submitting a complete checklist.

Ways to Submit Data

There are three ways to submit data, through eBird, the Audubon App, or paper forms. The first two methods are preferred as they provide data faster and are easier to process. Below are some tips when submitting your data:

• The Audubon app – is the most user friendly because data can be submitted directly through the app! 
• eBird
  • Submit your 12 eBird checklist URLS through our portal
  • Email your 12 eBird checklist urls, in one email, to climatewatch@audubon.org
  • When using eBird, please do not use the eBird “Share” feature to submit your data to Audubon.
• Paper forms are available for your use to download and print at the bottom of the page. Email a scanned copy of your paper checklists to climatewatch@audubon.org

Additional Resources:

• Climate Watch FAQs 
• 2016-2018 Climate Watch Results
• Printable bird ID guide of the 12 target species
• A two-page PDF to provide a general overview of the effort to participants
• One-page overview protocol document
• climate_watch_paper_data_collection_form_and_instructions.pdf