Ornithologists are asking residents to help count waterfowl
As part of the Gray Neck campaign, ornithologists are asking city residents to help them count the number of waterfowl. Bird registration will take place from January 20 to January 21 in all cities of Russia, everyone will be able to participate. To do this, you need to have a plan of the reservoir, know the length or area of the water area and the average width of the riverbed, binoculars and a notebook.
For 15 years, specialists of the Russian Union for the Protection of Birds have been keeping records of waterfowl. Since 2015, it has been held as an All-Russian campaign "Gray Neck". According to ornithologists, most waterfowl fly to warmer regions for the winter. Scientists are monitoring to find out how important wintering in low temperatures is for waterfowl and near-water birds, which species do not fly south, and what their number is.
Participants of the campaign should come to a non-freezing reservoir in the morning (or in the afternoon, when it gets warmer) and check for the presence of aquatic or near-aquatic birds. If there are no birds on an ice-free pond, be sure to note this fact. Experts recommend keeping records in pairs: one counts birds, the second records the data. After the fieldwork, the information should be sent to the campaign coordinators.
The list of data to be noted in the registration sheet, as well as photos of birds and contacts of the coordinators are posted here: http://www.rbcu.ru/news/press/38485/.
Those who wish to participate in the campaign will receive electronic certificates of participants.