Climate Watch: Watching for Nuthatches or Bluebirds

Help us understand how birds are reacting to a rapidly changing climate.

Twice per year, January 15 - February 15 and May 15 - June 15

Nuthatches are among 74 bird species in the Great Lakes region whose ranges are expected to shift or shrink due to a changing climate, according to Audubon’s Birds and Climate Change Report released in 2014. A new community science project is taking flight to understand how birds are reacting to climate change and how humans can prepare for these changes.

To test the predictions of the report, Audubon is piloting the new community science project “Climate Watch.” Climate Watch aims to document species’ responses to climate change by having volunteers in the field look for birds where Audubon’s climate models project range expansion and loss by the 2020s.

Climate Watch focuses on species with the strongest predictions in the climate models. Specifically in the Great Lakes region, Climate Watch participants are asked to look for the two species of nuthatches: White-breasted Nuthatch and Red-breasted Nuthatch, or one species of Bluebird: the Eastern Bluebird

Join the Watch

1. Sign-up

Email your name and address to a Climate Watch coordinator near you. If your bird club or organization is interested in participating, please email climatewatch@audubon.org.

Sign-up to participate in the June Watch.

Wisconsin	LeFarge	Ben Johnston	Kikapoo Valley Reserve	Email
Wisconsin	Madison	Brenna Marsicek	Madison Audubon Society	Email
Wisconsin	Milwaukee	Karen M. Johnson		Email
Michigan	Metro Detroit	Brian Merlos	Audubon Great Lakes	Email
Ohio	Columbus	Angelika Nelson	Columbus Audubon Society	Email
Illinois	Casey	Larry Thorsen	Coles-Cumberland Christmas Bird Count	Email
Illinois	Chicago	Stephanie Beilke	Audubon Great Lakes	Email
Illinois	Libertyville	Emma England	Lake County Audubon Society	Email
Indiana	Porter	Kim Ehn	Dunes-Calumet Audubon Society	Email
Indiana	South Bend	Laura S. Fuderer	South Bend-Elkhart Audubon Society	Email

2. Hone your nuthatch or bluebird finding skills

Make sure you can identify these species of nuthatches and Eastern Bluebirds by sight and sound. Your Climate Watch coordinator will let you know which group of species to focus on.

White-Breasted Nuthatch Photo: Nick Saunders/Great Backyard Bird Count	Red-breasted Nuthatch Photo: Megumi Aita/Audubon Photography Awards	Eastern Bluebirds, male (left) and female (right) Photo: Michael Thomas/Audubon Photography Awards
Hear a White-breasted Nuthatch	Hear a Red-breasted Nuthatch	Hear an Eastern Bluebird
Learn more about White-breasted Nuthatch in our Field Guide	Learn more about Red-breasted Nuthatch in our Field Guide	Learn more about Eastern Bluebird in our Field Guide