Even if you're not normally a bird watcher, if you stop and look around, you can spot an egret snacking beyond the trees, a duck with its ducklings, a finch at a feeder, a bird on a wire and it's easier these days to spot a turkey or two around town.
"When you start looking, you're amazed at what is out there," said Minnesota Audubon's Bonnie Sample. "
I bet if we were to take time today and walk around this area we could come up with ten different species. Really, you don't have to do much walking at all. The Audubon Society's bird feeders alone attract a variety. A number which continues to grow and a new survey may be just the thing to figure out how many birds and different types call Minnesota home.
"Anybody can volunteer," said project coordinator Bonnie Sample. The state has been broken down into a number of 3-mile sectors. There are surveyors who head the sectors and volunteers are needed to keep track of the birds they find in their back yard during the mating season.
You don't have to necessarily be a bird watcher. You don't have to know the different types of birds, the Audubon society will help you with that, you just have to have the desire.
"No matter how you appreciate birds you are encouraged to participate and there are ways to do that," said Sample.
There is a general idea of what types of birds can be found, but there has never been an extensive survey.
The survey is expected to take five years to complete. For more information about the survey go to http://mnbba.org.
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