Spring has sprung and despite some occasional snow, birds are starting to migrate back to Minnesota! Their cheery songs and color are a delightful reminder that Minnesota’s ‘sleeping’ wildlife will be waking up with gusto over the next couple months. While you’re out enjoying the signs of spring, keep your eyes and ears open for birds heading back to Minnesota or just practicing their spring songs. There are multiple ways you can keep track of the birds you see and hear, plus help real world scientists collect data so they can help determine what’s around and what changes may be happening in the world of birds.

eBird is a great tool to keep track of the birds you see and hear, anywhere around the world! Whether you’re out on a hike or admiring birds outside your window, if you already know your bird identification, it’s a great way to make lists, compare what species others have seen in the area, plus help scientists and other birders better understand where different species are, and how they use their habitat. If you’re not quite confident in your bird identification, you can use the Merlin Bird ID app to help you out. Merlin uses data from eBird to help determine which birds are most likely in your area.  Merlin is also working on a web-based version for those who don’t have a smartphone.

And if you’re lucky enough to spot a bird nest, you can monitor the nest and help scientists learn about nesting birds by recording data in NestWatch. Check on the nest once a week, following the protocol from NestWatch so you don’t negatively impact the birds. The app will ask what the adults are doing, if/when eggs are laid, and when the baby birds hatch and leave the nest. These data are used to help understand bird populations. But it is also a really great way for people to make a connection to birds and the natural world! Stay tuned for an upcoming blog post about the Minnesota Zoo’s bluebird house monitoring and some adorable pictures of baby birds, along with how you can best help birds like bluebirds.

All of these apps were put out by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and work together beautifully to help us learn about the birds around us and give us a picture of how birds are doing in the wild. Regardless of if you contribute to these programs or just admire the birds around you, the more you observe the nature around you, the better chance you have of saving wildlife!

The Minnesota Zoo would love to see examples of how you used this activity at home! Please share pictures or comments via email at [email protected], and take less than 5 minutes of time to provide us feedback by completing this short survey.