Children learn about birds at a recent program at the Shepherdstown Public Library. Courtesy photo

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Thanks to a grant from the SciStarter organization, local residents have been given the opportunity to learn more about birds and birdwatching at the Shepherdstown Public Library this season.

Two events have been held so far with the grant funding, including an Introduction to Birding Workshop and a showing of the documentary film “Flyways” about the migration of shorebirds from the Arctic to the Southern Hemisphere each year. The final event in the series, a Community Bird Watching Day, will take place on the library grounds this Saturday, from 7-10 a.m.

“The purpose of the programming we planned was to educate people on why birding is important and how to do it, as well as to provide instruction on how to use the tools available to be a better birder,” said Youth Services Librarian Jessie Ward.

According to Ward, all three events in the program were intentionally scheduled close together, at the beginning of fall.

“Now is the perfect time for these programs, because birds are migrating and heading south for the winter,” Ward said. “Birding during migratory seasons and reporting your sightings to eBird will help scientists better understand current migratory patterns.

Community Bird Watching Day will be held on the grounds of the Shepherdstown Public Library on Saturday morning. Courtesy photo

“The main goal of these programs is to get more people to birdwatch and submit their sightings on eBird. Our sightings help scientists better understand birds, which can help them protect bird habitats, which benefits all of nature, which is good for people and our planet!” Ward said of eBird, which is one of the world’s largest biodiversity-related science projects.

According to Ward, the first two events in the series were planned, to help build up anticipation for the final, culminating event.

“All of this birding programming has been leading up to our Community Bird Watching Day,” Ward said. “The goal is to get as many people as possible to submit their birding lists on eBird that day. They can also share their lists with the library, to be counted as part of our team!”

Ward encourages those who cannot come to the library’s event to participate remotely, by watching the birding instructional video on eBird’s website and then sharing photographs on social media of birds they saw on Saturday, with the hashtags #SPLbirds, #OctoberBigDay and #PageAndPerch. At least one local family, who is currently traveling, is planning on doing just that.

“One of my regular storytime families is in Japan right now and they’re going to try to do some birding for us there!” Ward said, noting that those of all ages are encouraged to participate in the Community Bird Watching Day.

Even after the end of Community Bird Watching Day, Ward anticipates many people going on to develop an interest in birding, due to the SciStarter grant. Especially since enough funding was provided by the grant, to purchase bird-related educational materials for the library’s children’s department.

“The grant money covered the expenses of our programs and the addition of some new kits to our STEAM Lab in the children’s department,” Ward said. “The kits are available to be checked out and include ‘Intro to Birding,’ ‘Observing Biodiversity’ (exploring bird’s habitats), ‘Measuring Light in the Night Sky’ (a lot of birds migrate at night and are confused when they come across large areas of artificial light) and Cornell eBird kits, including curriculums for grades K-2 and 3-5.”

For more information, contact the Shepherdstown Public Library at 304-876-2783.