Participant Resources for Climate Watch

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Program Information

To orient you to the program, please review the following:

Climate Watch for Beginners (April 16, 2025, 59 min) - This webinar covers the science behind the program, provides an overview of Climate Watch, steps through the protocol, and shares some recent results. Answers to questions raised during the webinar are found here. 

• A two-page printable handout provides a general overview for beginners.
• An overview of the scientific protocol through a Story Map.
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Join Us with Five Steps

After you've familiarized yourself with the program, follow the steps below to get started. These steps align with those outlined in our one-page overview protocol document.

 Steps 1 & 2  |   Step 3   |   Step 4   |   Step 5 

Steps 1 & 2: See if there is a local Coordinator in your area, then consider target species of interest and claim a square.

• Check the Coordinator listing. If there is no coordinator near you consider becoming a local coordinator by reading the materials on this page. If you just want to participate on your own, that's ok!
• Learn how to select your target species and claim a square using the Climate Watch Tool by watching our Getting Started tutorial (May 9, 2025, 14 min).
• Want help picking your target species? This document has a table showing which birds need more surveys for each state. 
• Explore the Climate Watch Tool: Link to tool

If you are asked for login credentials, please follow these steps

1. Go to arcgis.com and login with the provided credentials: Username : ClimateWatch Password: Audubon1
2. Once logged in and while in the same window, go to the top and navigate to https://gis.audubon.org/ClimateWatch

Step 3: Identify twelve survey points in your Climate Watch square.

• Learn how to think through suitable survey sites for your target species and use our Climate Watch Tool to plan and plot your points by watching our Planning Your Survey Sites tutorial (May 9, 2025, 17 min).

Step 4: Conduct your surveys during the summer and/or winter season.

• Learn how to conduct Climate Watch surveys by reviewing our Conducting Surveys Tutorial (May 9, 2025, 10 min).
• You only need to complete your surveys (12 points) once during the survey season.

Step 5: Submit your data. 

• Learn how to submit your data to Climate Watch
• Instructional overview of the methods for collecting and submitting data
• If you plan to submit your data manually, you can use our printable Climate Watch Data Collection Form and Data Collection Template. If you use these printable forms, please make sure that you follow the methods on the How to Submit your Data to Climate Watch to submit your data to Audubon and do not email these forms to us. 

Program Resources

• Printable bird ID guide of the 12 target species.
• Climate Watch Survey Manual details the full protocol and steps for surveys.
• Check out other recorded webinars available in our Climate Watch learning Center.