Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY, cilt.147, sa.5, ss.227, 2006 (SCI-Expanded)
KuşBank is an internet based databank where the bird watchers can store their bird observation data as a “citizen scientist” to contribute the conservation of birds. KuşBank Project is executed by Doğa Derneği and Erciyes University with the support of RSPB (The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds). KuşBank is a part of the World Birds Project which is carried on by BirdLife and RSPB. Worldbirds is a project which aims to compile all national bird databases and use these data for conserving the birds throughout the world. Turkey is a rich country in terms of bird diversity and hosts 456 species. 362 (79%) of those have been seen and entered into the KuşBank database during 2004. Among those species, 158 are under a threat category in Europe. During 2004, 2000 field observations by 400 birdwatchers were collected in KuşBank which include a total of 28,140 bird sightings.The majority of the observations and sightings in KuşBank date from spring and autumn. The breeding data was used to prepare breeding distribution maps of Turkish birds. KuşBank has become the most important source of information to update information on the states of birds, their habitats and the threats on IBAs. Many sightings come from Important Bird Areas (IBA) and 53% of those source from Central Anatolian IBAs. Mogan Gölü (Lake Mogan) in Central Anatolia is the most frequently visited IBA. KuşBank 2004 report was published in 2005 and it has been compiled from the data collected in KuşBank by the birdwatchers from different provinces of Turkey during 2004. In KuşBank, birdwatchers can store their sightings in a standard way and share with other birdwatchers. KuşBank, as a citizen science project for bird conservation, has shown that volunteers can contribute to not only scientific work and but also Turkey’s Site Protection strategies while Turkey is on the way to EU membership.