BirdCast: Revealing the Mysteries of Bird Migration

Summary
Twice a year billions of birds migrate across the U.S. We’ve only recently discovered just how large that number really is. Being able to quantify that number is thanks to a large degree to a program called BirdCast which anyone from backyard birders to scientists to emergency managers can use. Join us as we dive into the fascinating world of bird migration.

Today’s guest
Dr. Andrew Farnsworth is a visiting scientist at Cornell Lab of Ornithology and a member of the BirdCast Team, which is using radar to track and study bird migrations over the U.S.

3 things you’ll learn from this episode:

• About bird migration including when they migrate, why they migrate, impacts of both human induced and natural climate change, and much more.
• The importance of making natural history observations and how technology can enhance, but not replace, those observations.
• The many ways in which BirdCast is being used by birds and by scientists, starting with giving us concrete data on the mind-blowingly large numbers of birds that migrate over the U.S. each year.

Resources Andrew mentioned:

• BirdCast
• eBird

Other Backyard Ecology resources:

• The Backyard Ecologist’s Newsletter

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