I mentioned before that I once maintained a very large bluebird trail, mostly in East Penn Township. On top of that, I even banded bluebirds, tree swallows, some screech owls and some winter birds. I was also active in recording hawk migrations at Bake Oven Knob.

These things, I believe, helped in some little way in our conservation efforts.

You don’t have to be a biology or environmental science major to do your part. Next weekend, the Lehigh Gap Nature Center is asking for volunteers to help in its annual Lehigh Gap Area Feeder Watch. Anyone who lives within a 15-mile radius of the center can participate.

The center is just a few hundred feet inside the Lehigh County border at Lehigh Gap, so if you live in Andreas, Nesquehoning, Jim Thorpe, the Beltzville Lake area, Franklin Township, Palmerton, Schnecksville, New Tripoli or Parryville, maybe you can help.

Here is how it works: On either Feb. 14, 15 or 16, watch your feeding station area a number of times during the day. If at 8 a.m. you count 21 juncos and two cardinals, jot it down. If two hours later you see 14 juncos, four cardinals and three blue jays, note that count.

At the end of the day, go back to your notes and record the highest amount of each species that you saw at one time during the day. Your daily count that day would be 21 juncos, four cardinals and three blue jays. It’s very easy. (If you see a species and are not sure what it is, take a quick photo and email me. I’ll try to help you.)

I’m sure you will have more than three species, but this would serve as an example. What I do each year is look ahead at the weather forecast and if snow is predicted on one of those days, I know my bird count will possibly double. Birds will anticipate the storm and want to get food while they can. If there is snow cover already, these birds have a harder time finding natural food and will “hit” your feeders more.

You can go to lgnc.org for directions, information and how to download and print the feeder watch form, fill it out and mail it. Or, go online and fill out the form and submit it there.

There is another, albeit more detailed, survey as well.

The Pennsylvania Bird Atlas began Jan. 1, 2024, and continues five years until February 2029. It may be a bit scarier to you but can be very important in seeing if populations of some species are growing, expanding ranges, or worse, losing “ground.”

To get information, to check frequently asked questions and to see the “how to,” go online to the Pennsylvania Bird Atlas (PBA3).

The directions may intimidate you at first, but the efforts of individuals in the past projects brought attention to declining American goshawk, whippoorwills, northern harriers and golden-winged warblers. These results could help us develop or protect specific habitats to help them. Your input can help gauge the current health of bird populations. This project has a winter bird atlas, too.

See what you can do, and I bet with some extra time out there, you and I can both help. Thanks.

Test Your Outdoor Knowledge: Which of these two shrinking habitats is leading to the decline in many bird species here in United States: grasslands or forests?

Last Week’s Trivia Answer: Hawaii, by far, is the state with the most endangered species. Most of those are birds.

Email Barry Reed at breed71@gmail.com