Photo © Alex Eberts/Macaulay Library

What’s Old Is New

Our Nest Quest Go! initiative continues to add historic nest records to the NestWatch database. Since our last newsletter, many new collections have been uploaded, including: catbirds, mockingbirds, cuckoos, raptors, thrashers, hummingbirds, orioles, nocturnal birds, starlings, sparrows, warblers, grassland birds, bushtits, titmice, tanagers, and blackbirds. Together these collections add an impressive 44,796 nest records to our long-term archive! One card from 1973 has already received a taxonomic update: an Eastern Meadowlark nest record was determined to actually be that of a Chihuahuan Meadowlark, which scientists have recently split from the Eastern Meadowlarks. It’s now the only nest record of that species in our database!

If you haven’t explored Nest Quest Go! before, try your hand at transcribing old paper nest record cards into digital data. We still need your help finishing up the Tree Swallow collection. Your help is so appreciated!