Participation campaign: At the weekend one should count birds in the garden

Created: 05/01/2023 05:56

Many people are fascinated by birds, like here the two women on a walk at the Ismaninger reservoir, where birds can be observed well.

© Cornelia Schönhardt

At the weekend, all nature lovers say: on your marks, get set, count.

The "Hour of the Winter Birds" is coming up, a Germany-wide hands-on campaign.

District – Manfred Siering and Markus Dähne, one from Grünwald, the other from Unterhaching, have long since discovered the fascination of bird life.

In their excursions - for example at the Ismaninger reservoir or in the landscape park Hachinger Tal - they pass on this passion.

Another opportunity for bird watching is January 6-8 at Winter Bird Hour.

If you like, you can follow the call from the Nature Conservation Union (NABU) and its partner, the State Union for Bird and Nature Conservation (LBV) and count birds as part of this long-term citizen science project.

The more people from the county who participate, the better.

"Because valuable data is collected here, which benefits the nature conservation associations in their daily work," says Irmgard Paikert-Schmid, the second chair of the LBV local group in Kirchheim.

Listen who's banging: a great spotted woodpecker.

© Cornelia Schönhardt

In this way, gradual changes are recognized over the years and appropriate protective measures can be taken.

The count should not be done in the forest or in the open field, but in the settlement area - at the bird feeder, in the garden, on the balcony, in the park or simply from the window.

This makes sense because the focus of the campaign is more on familiar and widespread species such as tits, robins and sparrows.

"You don't have to be an expert to do that.

Rather, it is a research project in which everyone can take part," explains Nicole Friedrich from the LBV online editors.

Identify birds correctly

You can choose any time during the weekend.

Observed once for an hour.

The highest number of each species sighted at the same time is recorded.

This avoids double counting.

This means that if you see a blackbird and another five minutes later, only one blackbird is noted because there is a possibility that it is one and the same animal.

But if you see two blackbirds at the same time, you write down these two.

It is also important to name the species correctly, because not every "tit" is a great tit.

To make it easier for laypeople to get started, several free aids are used: a counting aid to print out or online tips such as the NABU bird trainer, a learning video, a bird lexicon, winter bird profiles and the NABU app "Vogelwelt".

Or an online course.

Bookable at any time, you can learn the most important things about bird watching and identification in just 45 minutes.

Also: If you have nice winter bird pictures up your sleeve, you can upload them to the large LBV picture gallery by January 15th and take part in a photo competition.

The winning picture gets a place in the leaflet for the next “Hour of the Winter Birds 2024”.

If you want to practice or have questions about the "Hour of the Winter Birds": On January 6th at 10 a.m. there will be a live online bird count with the biologist Angelika Nelson on the LBV YouTube channel.

report observations

Puffed up: the blue tit.

© Cornelia Schönhardt

To report observations, simply use the online form or report sightings via the app.

The form is activated from the start of the campaign on January 6th until the end of the registration period on January 16th.

You can also enter the result in a registration form that is available in all Hofpfisterei branches in the district.

Frank with 70 cents and send by January 16th to NABU, Hour of the Winter Birds, 10469 Berlin.

Data will be accepted on January 7th and 8th from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the toll-free number 0800 /115 71 15.

The next counting campaign, the hour of the garden birds, will take place from May 12th to 14th.

also read

The couple has been living without heating for weeks - the fault is the low groundwater

READ

Chimney sweeper instead of studying veterinary medicine: Laura (23) loves her trade

READ

Accident chaos at the Munich-South motorway junction

READ

Made from chickpeas and straw: a couple sells sustainable packaging materials

READ

Regina Böck (54) from Schäftlarn has been working as a funeral speaker for several years

READ

Fancy a journey of discovery?

My space

Cornelia Schoenhardt

School lesson of the winter birds

From January 9th to 13th, all children are invited to the "Winter Birds School Lesson" to get to know the native winter birds together by counting for an hour in the schoolyard, in the park or in the garden.

Instructions for primary school teachers including materials (worksheets, quiz) can be downloaded free of charge from the LBV website.

You can read more news from the district of Munich here.