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Photo © Keith Williams

April 2019 News


Our Annual Report is Here!

Each spring, we publish our annual report, called the NestWatch Digest, for our NestWatchers. This report contains data summaries and highlights from the previous nesting season. It’s our way of recognizing all of the effort of volunteers, organizers, trainers, and the entire NestWatch community. You’ll find research updates, great participant-submitted photos, and regional highlights from 2018. We hope you enjoy reading it! As an additional thank-you, it also contains a 20% off coupon (expires May 31, 2019), which can be used towards any of our Cornell Lab Publishing Group products. Read the report here.


Rare Runt Egg Found

Christine Boran found this tiny Eastern Bluebird egg in a nest on April 4, 2019. Christine monitors the Woolwine House Bluebird Trail in Virginia, which is the same trail that produced a clutch of oddly shaped eggs last year.

Known as “runt eggs,” these yolkless eggs can occur if a sloughed piece of tissue finds itself in the oviduct. Once there, it stimulates the eggshell-forming process, and the “egg” is laid as a normal egg would be. Runt eggs are therefore not expected to hatch.


The Nests That Weren’t

We love to play “Guess whose nest?” and answer your burning nest identification questions. Sometimes, however, this takes a detour into non-avian species. This month in our blog, we explore our top five participant finds that didn’t turn out to be bird nests at all. But they’re still cool, and we always enjoy a challenge! Check out the story here.


Two New Chapters Join

We’re thrilled to introduce two new chapters. Let’s hear it for the Sudbury Valley Trustees in Massachusetts! Co-led by Trevor Nelson and Laura Mattei, this is our fifth chapter in the state. Trevor and Laura hope to use the data collected for NestWatch to inform management plans and to help map the distribution of breeding birds at the watershed level.

We’re also welcoming Macon County NestWatchers, based in Decatur, Illinois! Led by Melody Arnold, this chapter has been maintaining 160 nest boxes in 6 conservation areas. They have been NestWatching since 2013. Welcome Sudbury Valley Trustees and Macon County NestWatchers!

Want to join a chapter? View our interactive chapters map to find one near you!

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Cornell Lab of Ornithology