Western Rivers Bird Count Cancelled Until Next Year

As community leaders, Audubon takes seriously our personal and organizational responsibility to help stop the spread of COVID-19. As a result, Audubon has closed all of our offices and centers, cancelled events, and has restricted many stewardship and monitoring activities to prioritize the safety of our staff, volunteers, and communities. This includes this year’s Western Rivers Bird Count—a community science program that takes place during May and June in the arid West.

And while we cannot administer this year’s bird count, we did want to tell you a little about what we’ve discovered over the last two years at our priority sites while looking for Summer Tanagers, Bell’s Vireos, Yellow-breast Chats, and Yellow Warblers.

The original purpose of the Western Rivers Bird Count was to bolster the data available for these riverside species during the months of May and June. We’re proud to report than in many states, particularly in Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico, the amount of counts more than doubled since 2017 in these key areas.

As Audubon scientists continue to analyze data, and accrue more data in future years, we’ll be able to better understand how birds interact with target areas where the Audubon network has on-the-ground connections, influence on water or habitat management, restoration actions, or water-policy focused work. Over time, we hope to show positive bird responses to our collective western water work.

While we wait a little longer to get outside to count birds near our favorite river consider joining a webinar highlighting water and birds in the arid West www.audubon.org/events.

Thank you to the Audubon network for all your support in this endeavor. We look forward to starting this up again next year.