Audubon’s Birds and Climate Change Report predicts that over half of North American bird species will lose more than 50 percent of their current climatic range by 2080. To test these predictions, Audubon is running the new community science project Climate Watch. Climate Watch aims to document species’ responses to climate change by having volunteers in the field look for birds where Audubon’s climate models project they should be in the 2020s.
Surveys take place twice per year: during January 15 – February 15 and during May 15 – June 15 (one survey day per period). Surveys are conducted by volunteers with Audubon chapters such as Columbus Audubon. Each survey should take from 2 – 4 hours. Here in central Ohio, surveys focus on White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches and on Eastern Bluebirds. For more information, see the Climate Watch page on the Audubon Web site.
For more information, check out the video below or click here for a fact sheet.