SLATINGTON, Pa. — Just shy of 3,000 birds were recorded this year during the Lehigh Gap Area Feeder Watch.
“Thank you to the 40+ families who made the 2024 Lehigh Gap Area Feeder Watch a big success,” Lehigh Gap Nature Center officials said in a news release.
“We encourage everyone to keep an eye out for new spring visitors in your backyard. Spring migration is underway!”
The center in February held its 27th annual Lehigh Gap Area Feeder Watch, a volunteer, long-term bird counting project aimed at studying how bird populations near the center change over time.
While residents record the number and type of birds they see at their homes for a few days each February, researchers track the quality of the environment over time, officials said, as well as engage community members in citizen science.
Participants are within 15 miles of the nature center.
Volunteers between Feb. 9 and 11 recorded 2,859 different birds from 50 different species. The most numerous bird spotted was the dark-eyed junco, with 240 sightings.Lehigh Gap Nature Center
This year, volunteers from Feb. 9 to Feb. 11 recorded 2,859 birds from 50 different species, according to the release. The most numerous bird spotted was the dark-eyed junco, with 240 sightings.
It’s a slight increase from last year, when volunteers recorded more than 2,500 birds of 40 different species.
More than 70,000 birds have been tallied over the past 26 years.
Other birds recorded included: 16 wild turkeys, 67 American crows, 49 white-throated sparrows and 127 house finches, among others.
Residents living within 15 miles of the center with one bird feeder are encouraged to volunteer next year.
