SEQUIM — Once again, a group of citizen scientists is joining local and out-of-area birders who are keeping their eyes on returning swans.
Martha Jordan, founder and executive director of the Northwest Swan Conservation Association, will provide training for the study at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Dungeness River Audubon Center, 2151 W. Hendrickson Road, Sequim.
Since 2011, members of the Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society have been tracking 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 interested 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 in 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.
The local Audubon group encourages participation in citizen science as a way 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.
