Indigenous Peoples’ Day

October 12 was indeed a big day. It seemed fitting that on Indigenous Peoples’ Day when we honor America’s first inhabitants and the Tribal Nations that continue to thrive today, we would also spend time with some of the feathered friends they have always respected, cared for, and nurtured.

October Big Day provided the perfect opportunity to contribute to participatory science, enjoy nature, and connect with a global community of bird lovers. Last year, nearly 36,332 people from 191 countries submitted 83,735 checklists with eBird, demonstrating the power of birds to bring people together.

This year’s October Big Day was an opportunity to unite around our shared love of birds. David Trently, international birder and friend of our EarthCARE Committee, joined Peter, another avid birder, Jan Novotka, Sisters Karen O’Neill, Carol Loughney, Kathy Kurdziel, and Donna Korba for several hours of engaging in a bird count at the IHM Center Land Restoration. Twenty-eight species of birds were observed, including the commonly seen American Robin (34), Canada Goose (17), Chipping Sparrow (10), Turkey Vulture (7), American Crow (6), and American Goldfinch (6) as well as the more elusive Northern Mockingbird (1), Redtailed Hawk (1), and Bald Eagle (1) and many others who share our land.

We’re grateful to our EarthCARE friends for sharing their discoveries with us in our newsletter as well as sharing with the global community through eBird, a worldwide bird checklist program used by millions of birders. eBird makes it possible tocompile everyone’s contributions into a single massive October Big Day list, while at the same time gathering data to help scientists better understand birds.