Lehigh Gap Nature Center will conduct its 27th annual Lehigh Gap Area Feeder Watch Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Fifty-eight volunteers participated in the 26th annual survey last February and observed more than 3,000 birds of 42 different species. Approximately 70,000 birds have been tallied in the 26 years of counting.

Feeder Watch is one of the long-term research projects that Lehigh Gap Nature Center conducts each year. Since birds are excellent indicators of environmental quality, a long-term study like the Feeder Watch may provide valuable data about environmental quality in the study area. It is important to have a large number of volunteers to gather enough data for the survey to be more accurate.

The Feeder Watch survey is conducted by volunteers who live within an approximately 15-mile radius of Lehigh Gap Nature Center. Anyone in that geographic area with one or more bird feeders of any type in their yard, and who can identify the individual species of birds that visit the feeders, is invited to participate in Feeder Watch. Volunteers are asked to spend a few hours throughout the day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday observing their feeders and recording any visitors.

For each species, volunteers should record the maximum number of each species sighted at one time. This way, they will avoid counting the same birds more than once. The Feeder Watch is an opportunity for backyard bird watchers to make a contribution to a scientific study.

The Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society started a similar project one year after the Lehigh Gap Nature Center count began, and Nature Center officials encourage their participants to submit their count data to Cornell’s Great Backyard Bird Count in addition to the Nature Center.

Volunteers have the option to submit their data either electronically or by mail. If requested, volunteers can also receive the data form and instructions by email or USPS. For more information, volunteers should contact the Nature Center at 610-760-8889 or at mail@lgnc.org.

Lehigh Gap Nature Center is a member-supported environmental education and wildlife conservation organization located in the Lehigh Gap between Slatington and Palmerton