Dorchester County has long had an abundance of bird lovers, both local and visiting. But to keep track of vulnerable species populations, help is urgently needed. 

The good news is that anyone who cares about birds and their future locally can help, with no advanced birding experience needed.

On Wednesday, April 20, Dr. Wayne Bell and George Radcliffe Jr. helped spread the word about the current status of threatened and thriving local populations and ways to help track them, in a talk held at Dorchester County Public Library's meeting room.

Bell is past director of the Center for the Environment and Society at Washington College. Along with Ron Ketter, of the Talbot County Chapter of the Maryland Ornithological Society, Bell has been focused on determining whether a 2019 Science article, which estimated a loss of 3 billion birds from North America, also holds true for the Eastern Shore.

While data holds dire indications for some once common species, such as bobwhite, some others, including relatively new arrivals on the Shore, such as the goldfinch, are holding their own.

Radcliffe is a retired middle school science teacher who initially used birds to get his students hooked on nature and the outdoors, but in the process became hooked on the subject himself. Since 2005, he’s been the Maryland Ornithology Society youth coordinator and is currently Dorchester County coordinator of the Maryland & DC Breeding Bird Atlas 3 Program, which began in 2020 and runs through 2024.

BBA3 is a community-based science project relying on everyday citizens to observe bird behavior indicating breeding status and record findings within a 3x3-mile block grid on the eBird app. The project is designed to document the distribution, abundance and timing of the birds breeding within the region.

Dorchester County contains the largest physical area in the state, containing a whopping 83 “blocks” needing documentation, with only six people actively participating. While areas around Cambridge and the Neck District, where Radcliffe lives, are being covered, the north and south parts of the county have yet to be “adopted” although they offer some of the best birding areas, a number of meeting attendees noted. Although eBird, developed by Cornell University’s Ornithology Lab, has become the standard tracking tool widely adopted around the world, there are still relatively few users within the county.

Radcliffe pointed out that among area avian enthusiasts, his own birding skills are relatively elementary, humorously referring to himself as “holding the title of Maryland’s 12,345th best birder.” He's quick to credit the abilities of his young protegees, including one especially gifted 8-year-old. In May, he’ll lead five groups of youngsters to participate in the World Series of Birding in Cape May, New Jersey.

"They can hear and see things I might miss," Radcliffe said. Kids are also enthusiastic when it comes to observing crucial bird behaviors such as carrying food and nest materials, identified by the Atlas project as helping confirm sighted birds as engaged in breeding behavior, which is the main goal of the study, he added.

Even if you can only identify a few common species, such as robins, the relatively small sample size of 3-mile blocks minimizes the need to recognize more than a few bird species. Even those challenged by walking any distance can take part by driving and making stops at appointed intervals. Plus, eBird provides straightforward guidelines for tracking and submitting data.

The app has been adopted as a universal tracking tool around the world. But it still isn't widely used in Dorchester, Radcliffe and Bell explained. 

Radcliffe is ready to assist anyone wanting to get started with eBird with one-on-one help. Informational sessions may also be offered for small groups at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, according to Matt Whitbeck, Refuge wildlife biologist, who attended the meeting.

For more information about how to help with the Dorchester Breeding Bird Atlas project, contact Radcliffe at 410-463-1669 or radclifg@gmail.com, or Ketter, Talbot County Atlas coordinator, at talbot@mdbirds.org.