The League for the Protection of Birds (LPO) calls on citizens to participate in a national operation to count garden birds, on January 25 and 26, 2025. Aurélien Deschatres, ornithologist at LPO Champagne-Ardenne explains his method for spotting them.
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Stone Grosbeak, Black-headed Warbler…These birds liven up the life of our gardens. Saturday January 25 and Sunday January 26, 2025, will be an opportunity to observe them for an hour in order to contribute to the national count of the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO). The objective is to help scientists better understand the state of local biodiversity! Aurélien Deschatres, ornithologist at LPO Champagne-Ardenne reveals some tips for best observing these animals.
“Between the House Sparrow and the Speckled Accentor, we can quickly become confused,” warns Aurélien Deschartes. Each characteristic of the bird is indeed important, some species being very similar. “The first bird is carnivorous and its beak is more powerful while the second has a very thin beak because it is insectivorous.” he explains. Details not always obvious to amateurs who can, in case of doubt, check the species on the association's website or send a photo of the bird.
-The observation schedule is important according to the naturalist.
It is rather at the end of the morning, between ten o'clock and noon or at the end of the afternoon, around four o'clock before sunset that the birds are most active.
Ideally, he suggests watching them from afar from the windows of your house, and to not miss one, “take a look under the hedges in the garden at the end of the observation hour”.
Also pay attention to the counting method! Those that pass over the garden but do not land there should not be counted. Another mistake to avoid: forgetting to take into account the comings and goings of the same bird. He therefore advises “counting them all when they land, for example near the washhouse or the feed trough”.
According to him, participants can hope to see around ten species in their garden, or even more than twenty on a large plot of land. “The luckiest are probably those who fed them in winter,” he says.
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