Arts, Dining & Entertainment

Become a citizen scientist with VINS Great Backyard Bird Count

Courtesy of VINS

Identify birds such as this cardinal with VINS for the Great Backyard Bird Count.

Feb. 14-15 — QUECHEE — Join the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) for the 19th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count at the Nature Center campus on Sunday, Feb. 14, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on Monday, Feb. 15, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Become a citizen scientist for a day and help VINS count the wild birds that visit our feeders.

VINS invites birding novices and experts alike to join for the day beginning with a Bird Identification workshop from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. At 11 a.m. they will feature a bird on glove and an introduction to the Bird Count. From 11:15 a.m. to 2 p.m., they will conduct the actual tally of bird species and submit the data to the Great Backyard Bird Count. In doing so, join citizen-scientists around the world in helping to obtain a better understanding of bird populations. VINS will have staff on hand to assist with bird identification. “The Great Backyard Bird Count, launched in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, was the first online citizen-science project to collect data on wild birds and to display results in near real-time” (Cornell University,https://gbbc.birdcount.org/about).

During the event, we also will have special interactive games, crafts and activities for families. Complete the day with a live raptor program from 2 to 2:45 p.m. immediately followed by a raptor feeding. All events are included with admission to the VINS Nature Center.

General admission to the VINS Nature Center is free for members; $13.50 for adults; $12.50 for seniors, 62 and over; $11.50 for youth, ages 4 to 17; and free for children, 3 and under. For more information, visit www.vinsweb.org or call 802-359-5001, ext. 223. The VINS Nature Center is open to the public seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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