SEQUIM — Once again, a group of citizen scientists are joining local and out-of-area birders to keep their eyes on returning swans.
Since 2011, members of the Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society have tracked tundra and trumpeter swans, determining where they are feeding and roosting, and monitoring how well the swans were surviving by reporting any sick, injured or dead birds.
The Audubon group is looking for volunteers to help with the study, to be conducted once a week from November through the end of March.
The objective, study officials say, is identifying what areas they feed and what areas are used as a nighttime roost.
With enough volunteers, participants would need to survey just once a month, as each week is assigned to one volunteer or team.
Martha Jordan, founder and Executive Director of Northwest Swan Conservation Association, will provide training for the study at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24, at the Dungeness River Audubon Center at 2151 W. Hendrickson Road in Sequim.
The local Audubon group encourages participation in citizen science as a way for to generate vital information for bird conservation.
To volunteer or for more information, call Mary Porter-Solberg at 360-683-8072. RSVP at the same number to attend the training class.
