On a wet morning eight years in the past, a gaggle of nature fans wakened early on a Sunday morning to search for birds. The gathering, organised by the Society for the Conservation of Nature of Liberia (SCNL), was supported by the then-German ambassador’s spouse.
By Manon Verchot and Sanshey Biswas
Since that day, at 6AM on the second Sunday of each month, they attempt to meet in a distinct location, often someplace close to or in Monrovia. Collectively, they doc which chicken species they see. And so they share their findings with their companions, BirdLife Worldwide.
On June eighth 2025, they gathered to have a good time the eighth anniversary close to a lagoon in Congo City. The group made their approach to a dune sandwiched by the ocean and the lagoon. Main the stroll together with colleagues was Emmanuel M. Lokueh, analysis officer at SCNL and chief of the chicken watching group. Turning to the group, he listed out options they need to be watching out for, “the coloration, the calls, the motion… then the attention of a chicken…these are the methods you utilize to establish birds.”
The challenge joins a citizen science custom that has thousands and thousands of contributors all over the world. Nature fans use apps like eBird, Merlin and iNaturalist to doc the species they observe round them. iNaturalist has 3.7 million citizen observers globally, 140 of which have made observations in Liberia. Merlin has 7.5 million. Anybody can obtain and contribute to those apps.
Scientists can use such observations submitted on these apps to review adjustments in biodiversity, the impacts of local weather change, city wildlife and a lot extra. The analysis isn’t restricted to chicken watching, citizen scientists contribute to different areas of science like climate, crops and different animals together with sea creatures and bugs.
Liberia has a wealthy biodiversity, even in its city areas. An inventory compiled by citizen scientists on eBird exhibits that greater than 300 chicken species have been recognized in Montserrado county. Woodland kingfishers, widespread bulbuls, red-eyed doves and rollers are often seen on the streets and electrical energy strains in Monrovia.
However that quantity is simply a partial image. In complete, Liberia is alleged to host over 536 chicken species, in response to BirdLife Worldwide. This consists of migratory birds, land birds, water birds and sea birds. Sixteen of Liberia’s chicken species are thought of threatened.
Science and conservation organizations use labels equivalent to threatened or susceptible to sign how shut species are to extinction. Yearly, hundreds of species go extinct and conservation efforts are geared to try to decelerate that decline in biodiversity.
Every animal performs a small however vital position in conserving a habitat wholesome. However in an effort to preserve birds, we first have to know the bottom actuality of their numbers — the place a species will be discovered and what number of people are left.
“There are some birds that love cities, they’re not within the forest,” stated Lokueh. “So we need to have information on the type of species.”
Volunteers becoming a member of SCNL doc the chicken species they see on the BirdLasser app. Strolling alongside a lagoon in Congo City on the day of their anniversary, they noticed 10 totally different species. Pied kingfishers hovered within the air earlier than diving into the water to catch fish. Cormorants dried their wings on the sting of the water. Because the volunteers wound up the stroll, individuals reminisced not simply concerning the birds, however concerning the eight-year-long journey to raised perceive the state of birds of Liberia.
