Editing Birdwatching (section)

===Monitoring===
Birders may take part in censuses of bird populations and migratory patterns which are sometimes specific to individual species. These birdwatchers may also count all birds in a given area, as in the [[Christmas Bird Count]], or follow carefully designed study protocols. This kind of [[citizen science]] can assist in identifying environmental threats to the well-being of birds or, conversely, in assessing outcomes of environmental management initiatives intended to ensure the survival of at-risk species or to encourage the breeding of species for aesthetic or ecological reasons.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/15/science/paying-farmers-to-welcome-birds.html?_r=0 |title=Paying Farmers to Welcome Birds |newspaper=New York Times |date=14 April 2014 |first=Jim |last=Robbins |access-date=5 February 2016}}</ref>

This more scientific side of the hobby is an aspect of ornithology, coordinated in the UK by the [[British Trust for Ornithology]]. The [[Cornell Lab of Ornithology]] hosts many citizen-science projects to track the number and distribution of bird species across North America. These surveys help scientists note major changes from year to year which may occur as a result of [[climate change]], disease, predation, and other factors.<ref name=texas>{{cite book|year=2003|title=An introduction to birdwatching|publisher=Texas Parks and Wildlife Department|url=http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0476.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Greenwood |first=J. J. D. |year=2007 |title=Citizens, science and bird conservation |journal=Journal of Ornithology |volume=148 |issue=1 |pages=77&ndash;124 |doi=10.1007/s10336-007-0239-9 |bibcode=2007JOrn..148...77G |s2cid=21914046 |url=http://www.dof.dk/sider/images/stories/gu/vu/dokumenter/greenwood_vu.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719123722/http://www.dof.dk/sider/images/stories/gu/vu/dokumenter/greenwood_vu.pdf |archive-date=19 July 2011}}</ref>