Photo ©
Keith Williams
More Data Archived
This month we uploaded another 1,655 nest records of 12 species from the South Carolina Bluebird Society. Thanks to all of the volunteers who collected the data for your tireless efforts, and to Glen Hendry for shepherding it into the NestWatch database!
Masterful Work
Congratulations to Caleb Gruber for recently completing a Master’s Degree thesis entitled “The relationship between temperature, rainfall, and tree swallow fledging times” at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Caleb acknowledged the NestWatch data as tremendously helpful for this study, saying, “I would like to thank the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and their NestWatch program. Without the contribution of the NestWatch data, this project would have been less likely to make it off the ground.”
The study explored how weather variables like temperature and rainfall influence how long it takes for Tree Swallow chicks in Tennessee to fledge. Interested readers can find the thesis here.
Cheers for New Chapters
Welcome to our two newest NestWatch chapters, Cross Timbers Master Naturalists of Benbrook, Texas, and the Black Butte Ranch Bluebird Chapter in Sisters, Oregon!
Cross Timbers, headed by Donna Honkomp, is in their eighth year of monitoring nest boxes for NestWatch. Donna and fellow volunteers participate in community education events, citizen science efforts, and bird walks. Donna was even honored as a 2019 “Bluebirder of the Year” by Texas Bluebird Society.
Black Butte Ranch is headed by Kirsten Sansom. Their continually growing organization currently monitors 72 nest boxes for NestWatch in central Oregon and puts on programs to educate their community about the work they do to support Pacific Northwest bird species. They’ve also connected with the U.S. Forest Service to coordinate habitat restoration and nest box installation on federal land in their area.
We certainly appreciate these busy groups representing NestWatch in their communities. Welcome!
On the Blog: Wi-Fi Enabled Nest Cams
From borescopes to selfie sticks, NestWatchers are often trying new tools to make nest monitoring easier. With more people using Wi-Fi enabled security cams at home, we’re seeing an increase in their use for monitoring nests as well. These smart cameras integrate with apps on your phone to provide around-the-clock access to your favorite birds, and they’re hooking people who might not otherwise NestWatch at all.
In this month’s blog post, NestWatch project leader Robyn Bailey and NestWatch chapter coordinator Ian Stewart share their experiences with two different camera styles. See what they learned, compare image quality samples, and share your own tips over on our blog!