[BCNnet] Birders Needed for U of I West Nile Virus study.

[Judy Pollock]

Would you like to join a U of I study on the impacts of West Nile Virus on 
birds?  The study will look at whether there are differences in bird 
species composition between WNV hot spots and other areas.  It is part of a 
larger study which will pull together layers of data on mosquitoes, 
demographics and landscape features as well as birds, in order to model the 
spread of the disease.  It will seek to understand the role of birds in 
disease transmission and to better protect both birds and people from West 
Nile Virus.

Birders are needed to drive (or bike) mapped routes and to make periodic 
stops, noting the birds seen and heard.  The time commitment would be one 
or two early mornings during June and possibly early July. Some routes 
require birders who know the calls of our birds of neighborhoods and parks, 
and others require experienced birders familiar with the calls of all our 
local breeding birds.  The routes are almost all in Cook County, including 
some fairly urban areas:

Oak Lawn
  Skokie/Evanston/Wilmette
  NW Chicago
Chicago - North
  Roselle - DuPage
Chicago – Diversey W
Chicago – River N.
Chicago – Downtown W.
Chicago – Burnham Park
Chicago – Intl Amphitheater
Chicago – Midway
Chicago – Marquette Park
Palos Park
Chicago - Pullman
Calumet City
Sauk Village

A training workshop will be held at Northerly Island on Saturday, April 9 
from 2 – 4 pm with Jeff Brawn and other researchers from the U of I.  For 
more information or to volunteer, please contact me at jpollock at audubon.org 
or 847 965-1150.  I hope you'll be able to join us.  If you can't make the 
workshop but are still interested, please let me know - we may be able to 
give you a route, depending on how many people we have at the workshop.


Judy Pollock
bobolnk at ix dot netcom dot com
Evanston (Cook)