PA Game Commission is recruiting volunteer bird counters

If you’re an avid birder, the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) is looking to hire you as a volunteer to count birds. 

The PGC, along with Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, have partnered to conduct the third Pennsylvania Bird Atlas in Pennsylvania. And the birds they’re talking about are the birds you see in your backyard, around camp, while hiking or just making outside observations. The PGC said those numbers are more important than you think. 

The count between now and Feb. 2029, will document what birds live in Pennsylvania, where and in what numbers. 

The agency goes on to explain that the Atlas will provide a snapshot of the population status and distribution of birds in the Commonwealth.     

PGC Ornithologist Sean Murphy said, “No other bird surveys are as comprehensive, and the results are critical to the establishment of conservation priorities for Pennsylvania birds.”

The PGC and Hawk Mountain are asking volunteers to look for birds, and report those at eBird (https://ebird.org/atlaspa. Step one to getting started is visiting the site and creating an account. Then, volunteers can access the information and tools to participate, including a handbook and other printable handouts. It will also enable you to see what others are seeing in real time.

Amber Wiewel, of Hawk Mountain, is the atlas full-time coordinator but there are paid bird counters as well. 

Atlas data comes from volunteers ranging from hard-core birders to more casual lovers of wildlife. 

“Results of the atlas are useful only if the data is plentiful as more checklists the better,” says the PGC. And volunteers are needed from all areas of the state, especially from people living in more remote parts where there are fewer birds. This data is valuable as it helps fill in holes on the map where birds would otherwise go unreported. And one of these areas are state game lands that can be hard to access and challenging to survey. 

Historically, Pennsylvania did its first atlas in the 1980s and the second followed in early 2000s. The results showed good and bad news. The good news was that catbirds were doing well as 12 percent of the world’s population lives in Pennsylvania – as are woodpeckers of all sorts. On the bad side, American goshawks and northern harriers are struggling. In this respect, I’ve noticed fewer robins here compared to 10 years ago. But perhaps it’s my location. Same with kestrels. On the other hand, blue jays appear to be plentiful. 

Breeding birds are also a focus of the Atlas as are birds overwintering in the state. It’s the PGC’s contention that we have much to learn about the distribution and abundance of birds in Pennsylvania, especially in winter. And whether an observer submits data for one nesting species or 100, it all goes towards the Atlas. 

REPORT TURKEY SIGHTINGS

And while you’re counting birds, the PGC is again asking the public to report seeing wild turkeys this summer. The Annual Pennsylvania Wild Turkey Sighting Survey that runs July 1 through Aug. 31. 

This information is important for determining wild turkey population management and wild turkey productivity for long-term reproductive success. Turkey sightings can be reported through the PGC’s website at https://pgcdatacollection.pa.gov/TurkeyBrood Survey. 
​
Participants are asked to report the number of wild turkeys they see, along with the county, township, wildlife management unit, date and contact information, in the event PGC biologists have any questions.