News Release

Great Backyard Bird Count at Fort Scott NHS this Month

The Great Backyard Bird Count poster featuring a Carolina Wren.

Jenny Burdette

News Release Date: February 4, 2020

Contact: Carl Brenner, 620-223-0310

Fort Scott National Historic Site will host two free guided bird walks Monday, February 17, from 7 to 9 am and 1 to 3 pm, for the Great Backyard Bird Count. 

A National Park Service Ranger will lead two easy, one-mile, two-hour birdwatching walks starting from the Visitor Center. Rangers and participants will record all bird sightings and upload the data to the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). This walk is for birders of all skill levels and you don’t have to stay for the entire program to make a difference. Birders are encouraged to bring binoculars and layered clothing.

Since 1998, “The Backyard Bird Count has been an opportunity for citizen scientists around the world to contribute to the understanding of wild birds, their environment, and numbers,” said Betty Boyko, Superintendent, Fort Scott National Historic Site. “We encourage everyone to join us each month for additional bird walks and programs.” Watch for scheduled bird walks in the park throughout the year on Facebook or at the Fort Scott NHS Website www.nps.gov/fosc.

For more information about the Great Backyard Bird Count, contact Ranger Abby at Fort Scott National Historic Site by calling 620-223-0310.  

Each checklist submitted during the GBBC helps researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society learn more about how birds are doing, and how to protect them and the environment we share. Last year, more than 160,000 participants submitted their bird observations online, creating the largest instantaneous snapshot of global bird populations ever recorded. The results of these bird counts are available at https://gbbc.birdcount.org.

From November 1-March 31, Fort Scott National Historic Site, a unit of the National Park Service, will be open for its winter hours of operation.  The site exhibit areas and visitor center are open daily from 8:30 am-4:30 pm. The park grounds are open daily from ½ hour before sunrise until ½ hour after sunset. To find out more or become involved in activities at the Fort, please contact the park at 620-223-0310 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/fosc.