Finished! Looks like this project is out of data at the moment!
Wow! 88% done and only one more workflow to go--Nest Attempts. Congratulations everyone, we are almost there. While this last workflow often takes the longest, it is some of the most important data we collect. Let's get this done, together.
Research
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, nestled in the Finger Lakes region of New York, is a world-renowned ornithological research, education, and conservation facility. Among our collections are more than 300,000 nest records from the North American Nest Record Card Program that ran from the 1960s until the early 2000s. Some cards pre-date the 1960s, likely because some naturalists were collecting this information before the formal program existed. Thousands of nesting birds, were observed by citizen scientists, who then submitted detailed accounts of bird nesting behavior.
Top left to bottom right: Robin feeding on berry, Robin perched on branch, Robin nesting, Robin with wings spread. Photo credit on FAQ page.
NestWatch, a citizen-science project of the Lab, is working to transcribe these data in hopes of better understanding the nesting patterns of North American birds. Valuable scientific questions can be asked and answered regarding the nesting behavior of birds over time by examining historical records. We hope to bring new discoveries to light using these previously hidden datasets.
This collection, of more than 18,000 American Robins cards, documents nesting history through-out the 49 contiguous United States and portions of Canada. Based on current NestWatch data we are seeing a decline in robins in the northwest, southeast, and northeast regions of the United States. We hope this collection will help us understand why. Due the large volume of cards, we'll begin by splitting this collection into regions for full-transcription. These worm-feasting-morning-singers are considered a sign of spring in their northern ranges and are regulars to all grass-dominated landscapes. What a joy to watch these worm-hunting thrushes.
The research potential of this information is invaluable. Join us in meeting our goal of transcribing all of these nest records to better understand and protect birds. With over 30+ years of data we hope to be able to identify some of the challenges that have been impacting the lives of nesting birds such as; predation, pollution, cowbird parasitism, human disturbance, weather, etc. Along the way we hope to learn more about the citizen scientists behind the cards and preserve the valuable data they spent hours collecting. For the love of birds and people, happy transcription!