Witness Nature’s Wonders with NestWatch

Ithaca, N.Y.—Around the country, birds are singing, partnering up, and looking for great nesting sites. Spring is a busy time of year for birds, and they are much more visible as they flit about their activities. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology welcomes anyone who finds a bird’s nest of any species to report their observations to NestWatch, a free citizen-science project focused on breeding birds.

“I joined the NestWatch program for the 2016 season and monitored six nest boxes that housed three different species,” says Diane Cherbak, a citizen scientist and active bird watcher. “I was happy to find the NestWatch program so I could stay involved in bird watching throughout the summer months.”

Participants report the location of a nest, the species using it, number of eggs laid, and other important milestones as the birds incubate, raise, and fledge their young. Register for the project at NestWatch.org.

“Each year, participants discover new things about nesting birds,” says NestWatch project leader Robyn Bailey. “For example, in 2016, a NestWatcher reported the very first instance of a Dark-eyed Junco nesting in a birdhouse. This is a species that typically nests near the ground, and I was shocked when our participant submitted photos documenting this new finding!” The discovery will soon be published in a scientific journal, underscoring how citizen scientists contribute to ornithology.

This year, NestWatch is making it easier than ever to share observations with its new mobile app. The app works in remote areas with patchy cellular service or no WiFi, so observations from even the most rural nests can be reported. Download the NestWatch app in the Apple App Store or from Google Play.

Find out more about the project, sign up, and learn how to become a NestWatcher at NestWatch.org. And watch for the NestWatch “Home Tweet Home” photo contest coming in July!