Photo ©
Keith Williams
A New Way to Participate!
We’re excited to offer you
a new way to participate that doesn’t involve finding nests outside,
identifying mystery birds, or any scheduled time commitments. You can
participate as often as you like without ever leaving your home. In fact, this new project is perfect
for beginners who have never found a nest or who have limited options for
monitoring nests outside.
Introducing Nest Quest Go!, our
online crowdsourcing project for capturing historic nesting data. Did you know
that generations of citizen scientists diligently collected nesting data on
paper forms and submitted them to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology from 1965
until the early 2000s? These data were frequently used for decades, but their
paper format is a serious barrier to their widespread use today. Nest Quest Go!
is a project designed to bring them back to life, freely share them with the
world, and preserve them for posterity.
Simply log on and create an
account to start transcribing these historic records. We’re starting with the
lovely golden Prothonotary Warblers, but we’ll be adding more species all the
time. Sign up to receive regular project
updates here, and join the Facebook group for participants for
more contact with other questers. We hope you find it as addictive as we do!
Mite Want to Read This
Our new blog post on The
Life and Times of Mites is a fascinating look into the
minuscule world of mites. People often ask us about how nest mites affect birds
and what, if anything, they should do about them.
For organisms such as mites, a nest can be an all-encompassing habitat,
containing food and shelter. And while many of us may shun the tiny creatures,
it’s important to learn about the ecology of nests and the role of these beings
in nature. As is often the case, birds are adapted to dealing with parasites,
and may not need our help at all.
Read on to discover what
these 8-legged critters are up to, and what ecologists have discovered about
them through the years.
Welcoming A New Chapter
A
hearty welcome to our newest chapter in Pennsylvania, the Hershey’s Mill Nest
Box Monitors. This chapter is co-led by Eileen Rackover and Dr.
Wilbur Amand. Located just outside of Philadelphia, Hershey’s Mill is
a large community for active adults and is a designated Audubon
Cooperative Sanctuary.
Eileen and Wilbur will be overseeing 20 volunteers as they continue monitoring
the 80 nest boxes on the property. They are pleased to be able to make their
data available to researchers at Cornell and elsewhere.
Do you belong to
a group of nest monitors? Ask about joining our NestWatch Chapters
program today.
Whooo’s Out There?
Ralph Gabellieri of North Carolina submitted this trail camera photo of a Barred Owl perched on an occupied nest box. Ralph reports that this was the second visit the owl made to the nest box, and that an Eastern Bluebird was inside incubating her eggs both times. What an amazing capture, and a good reminder that cameras outside of the nest box can be just as informative as those within boxes!