What is NestWatch?
NestWatch is a nest-monitoring project developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in collaboration with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, and funded by the National Science Foundation.
Why is it important?
Global environmental monitoring must include monitoring of biological organisms if we wish to understand the causes of and solutions for species declines. As a result, the need for large, continent-wide databases tracking survival and reproductive success of a wide range of species is increasing. NestWatch aims to provide a unified nest-monitoring scheme to track reproductive success for all North American breeding birds.
What is involved?
NestWatch teaches people about bird breeding biology and engages them in collecting and submitting nest records. Such records include information about nest site location, habitat, species, and number of eggs, young, and fledglings. “Citizen scientists” submit their nest records to our online database where their observations are compiled with those of other participants in a continentwide effort to better understand and manage the impacts of environmental change on bird populations.
How will the data be used?
For decades, citizen scientists have enjoyed monitoring and recording nests via Cornell’s Nest Record Card Program, but until now, most nest data have been stored on paper forms where they are not widely accessible. These historic data, as well as data from The Birdhouse Network, will be entered into the NestWatch database. Once fully populated, the database will house nearly 400,000 stored nest records spanning more than 40 years and 500 species. The ability to collect large amounts of data over time and space is the single greatest power of the citizen-science method of data collection. Long-term data sets are vital to scientists seeking to unravel the effects of climate and land-use changes on wild bird populations.
NestWatch data are publicly available online for anyone to view, download, and explore. The NestWatch database makes it easy for participants to manage and organize their bird nesting records and to see their data alongside everyone else’s!
Who can participate?
We invite people of all ages who are interested in the natural world to help monitor the success of nesting birds and better understand the threats they face. Your valuable nest observations will be permanently stored as legacy data along with hundreds of thousands of other nesting records. When combined, these data will provide a wealth of information about breeding birds and the factors that influence their success across different landscapes.
This project is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant No. 0540185. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.