©Kevin Bercaw | Kara Reichart - Regional Coordinator for Region 3
The NC Bird Atlas is a 5-year community science project mapping the breeding and wintering of birds of our state. This massive undertaking could not succeed without all of you – our volunteers. Volunteer efforts come in varying forms and are all important! Your volunteer efforts may be submitting complete checklists with breeding codes in priority blocks via the NC Bird Atlas portal in eBird. Some of you are amazing NCBA ambassadors promoting the NCBA throughout the birding community. Maybe you submit newsletter content for the Atlas community to enjoy. Perhaps you shine by facilitating local bird walks promoting the Atlas. Each of these examples is a piece of the Atlas puzzle and will contribute towards the success of the Atlas. One critical piece of the Atlas puzzle is the volunteer role of Regional Coordinator.
NC RegionsSo, what is a Regional Coordinator and what exactly do they do? Great question!
A Regional Coordinator volunteer commits to taking on a slightly larger role with the NCBA. We like to think of Regional Coordinators as our critical eyes and ears covering every corner of N.C. Each are assigned to one of nine regions across the state and supported by NCBA staff and other Coordinators within their larger ecoregion of either the mountains, piedmont or coast. Within their respective region, they will help recruit and support atlasers, contact block adopters, help review block effort for completion, and promote the NCBA. Coordinators will share experiences and get updates during monthly virtual meetings with NCBA staff. It is a very fun and rewarding experience – we hope you will consider volunteering to become a Regional Coordinator today! Any questions can be directed to coordinator@ncbirdatlas.org.
Still on the fence about becoming a regional coordinator? Well, let’s hear from one of our current Regional Coordinators, Kara Reichart, and what her experience has been like thus far in Region 3…….
Why did you want to become a regional coordinator? I have always enjoyed sharing the joy of birding with others, and being a regional coordinator was a great way to help members of my community become familiar with their local birds. I saw it as an opportunity not just to help facilitate the efforts of the atlas volunteers, but to help recruit enthusiastic new birders to the atlas project. The NCBA is such a large undertaking and will provide critical insight into birds in North Carolina, who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?!
What region do you serve? I’m the coordinator for Region 3, so I’m helping volunteers across eleven different counties, including Wake, Johnston, Wayne, Franklin, Nash, Wilson, Vance, Warren, Halifax, Northampton, and Edgecombe.
What does your role as a RC typically look like for you? Generally, I spend my time answering questions and helping volunteers navigate the Atlas protocols. For birders that haven’t participated in an atlasing effort before, this can be a bit of a different experience, so I have been guiding them through the coding and procedural aspects of entering the data into eBird and making sure all of their hard work gets counted. I also attend coordinator meetings to talk about how we can make Atlasing more open and accessible to everyone, and encourage more participation and involvement from all members of our local birding community. I’m very passionate about making birding a safe and fun experience for everyone!
Is it difficult to juggle Coordinator duties with work and your personal life? I’m honored to be an RC for the Atlas, so I can always find time for birders that need help with their blocks! Knowing that my volunteers are enthusiastic enough to ask questions and make sure they get things right is also very motivating for me to make that time in my day to help them out.
What has been one of the biggest highlights of being a RC? Absolutely being able to share the joy when one of my volunteers has completed a block. It is so exciting for them! They’re excited, I’m excited – it’s a huge celebration for everyone! You just know that SO many hours of work went into the completion of that block, and you know that all that work is going to pay off in scientific knowledge about the birds in our state.
Past Quackalacky Issues
October 2022
Inaugural – September 2022
– Lee Sherrill is a Science Support Specialist with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission working on projects including the NC Bird Atlas