Great Backyard Bird Count at Purchase College
For the first time, Purchase College Environmental Studies students, led by environmental studies professor Allyson Jackson, used our campus as one giant backyard and participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count.
Over two days, students counted 18 different species and 79 total birds while battling through snow and cold temperatures. Some highlights of the weekend were a Pileated Woodpecker down by the athletic fields and both Northern Flicker and Red-bellied Woodpeckers behind Admissions.
The entire Wildlife Ecology class got great looks at the resident juvenile Red-tailed hawk who didn’t seem too concerned by our presence.
Why did we battle snow to count birds?
Organized by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, the Great Backyard Bird Count encourages citizen scientists to count birds on this particular weekend every February.
By counting what birds we see on campus and sending that information into their database, we can help track changes in bird populations around the world. We hope to recruit more people each year and create a long-term record of birds on our campus.