What Birds Are Flying Around Your Schoolyard?
Ecology Explorers Protocol for Surveying Birds


The Sonoran Desert has one of the most diverse native plant and animal species of any desert in the world. Many birds are uniquely adapted to living here and they are part of food webs which include animals and plants that also are adapted to desert living.

Phoenix is an ever-expanding urban area located in the Sonoran Desert. CAP LTER scientists are studying the impact of this urbanization on bird communities.

o Which birds are living in the Phoenix metropolitan area?
o Which landscape designs attract which types of birds?
o Are there different kinds of birds in different urban landscapes (residential, commercial, parks)?

To answer these questions ecologists are conducting surveys of bird populations throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area. Your school can be part of this process by conducting your own bird surveys within your school yard and sending that information to scientists at ASU.