Kick off Your Summer Fun: Monitor Birds with the Bird Conservation Network

Wood Duck. Humboldt Park, June 15, 2023. Photo by Alex Muench.

The Bird Conservation Network (BCN) is actively recruiting new monitors for the annual BCN Survey. Start your summer strong by joining the dozens of other birders who spend a few mornings each summer monitoring our breeding birds.

This important community science project relies on experienced birders to count birds during the June breeding season. If you want to expand your birding ID skills, we can pair you with an experienced monitor to get you started, plus training sessions will be available to review the protocols and help you enhance your skill-set for birding by ear.

Have some favorite birding spots? Chances are good that one or more of them is an open monitoring site opportunity. The BCN Survey primarily covers the six counties that make up greater Chicagoland—Cook, Lake, McHenry, DuPage, Kane and Will—and focuses on birds in parks, county forest preserves, and other preserved lands. Help us expand our coverage, add to the bigger picture of what is happening in our region, and provide further insights for our land managers and researchers.

Become one of BCN’s 200+ monitors collecting vital information on species abundance and their population trends.  Your time spent monitoring will make a world of difference for the birds!

To learn more, visit www.bcnbirds.org/monitoring.  To request more information or express interest in signing up, click the “Become a Monitor” button.

Becoming a BCN Survey monitor is one of the best ways that you can make a valuable contribution to birds in your area. We invite you to join us this summer!