COmpetition for Cardinals in the carolina community
BY JAKE HILLYGUS
Most people don’t think of Durham birds as the most colorful or exciting, but there are a wide variety that can be seen here, from the roseate spoonbill to the yellow-billed cuckoo.
On eBird, a birding (birdwatching) website that allows birders (birdwatchers) to report birds they've spotted, birders go to extreme and sometimes dangerous measures to see the most birds possible, whether it be crossing railroad trestles or wading through mudflats. Even on DSA’s campus, there are quite a few species of birds that can be found. Birding may seem difficult, but today’s tools make it easy for new people to pick it up as a hobby. However, bird populations are declining at an alarming rate, meaning that future generations may not have the option to see them as we are able to today. “eBird is a globalized citizen science project that coagulates data from all over the world about where birds are and when, and it’s run by users like you,” Noah Rokoske, the top birder in Durham County this year according to the eBird leaderboard, explains, “On eBird, you can see fellow eBirders, hotspots where people often go, and photos that have been submitted.” Birding on eBird can get quite competitive, with birders vying for the top spots on the leaderboard. Rokoske is doing a “Big Year” this year, where he is trying to see as many birds as he can in the county. “I’m trying to break the record of 203, which was set last year. At this time, I have 200 species already,” he proclaims. On a smaller scale, birds can be seen even just on DSA’s campus. Anna Scotton is a biology teacher at DSA and a birder. “I see a ton of Northern mockingbirds, a lot of house sparrows, and maybe an occasional house finch [on campus], especially during lunch,” Scotton explains, “When kids are dropping crumbs, they’re going mad.” Scotton started birding after taking an avian biology class in college. Through UNC Chapel Hill, she traveled around the state, and saw a wide variety of birds. “I fell in love with the excitement of [birding] because it’s very much like a scavenger hunt or real life Pokémon GO,” Scotton expresses, “You get so excited [about rare birds] and it’s like ‘collecting’ another bird.” Scotton and Rokoske both think that birding is an accessible and fun activity that more people should try. “Just start looking,” Scotton suggests, “It’s a good idea to start paying attention when you see a bird. Start with the birds you know, like crows or robins, and start to figure out the in-betweens. Getting a [field guide] might [also] be a good idea.” Rokoske hopes that an interest in birds will encourage people to help conserve them. Bird populations are declining, and it is almost entirely the fault of humans. “During April, May, September, and October, please turn out your lights [at night] so that birds may migrate safely without running into glass and dying,” Rokoske implores, “It is estimated that 1 billion birds die each year because of window strikes during migration.” According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the bird population in the US has declined by 3 billion since 1970. Scotton hopes that bird species can survive in years to come. “[Birds] are a really vital part of our ecosystems. They keep our bug populations in check, and some are also pollinators. They’re also important just as an aesthetic joy; imagine a life without birdsong,” she concludes. |
PHOTO CREDIT: JAKE HILLYGUS
A yellow-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) perches in a tree near the Will Suitt mudflats on Falls Lake. Yellow-billed cuckoos breed in Durham, and are present from mid-April to late October. PHOTO CREDIT: JAKE HILLYGUS
A killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) wades in shallow water along the shore of Falls Lake in Durham. Killdeer are large plovers that are considered by many birders to be noisy, mindless nuisances. PHOTO CREDIT: JAKE HILLYGUS
A Cape May warbler (Setophaga tigrina) hops about in an autumn-colored tree. Cape May warblers have beautiful red blotches on their faces in breeding plumage, but in fall, when they are usually seen in Durham, their colors are much more muted. |