Introduction:

WhatisNestwatch?

Nestwatchisacitizenempoweredmonitoringprogramdesignedtocapturedataabout
birdpopulationsandhowthepopulationsarerespondingtohabitat/ecosystemchange
associatedwithhumanactivity,climatechange,andotherspeciesinteractionovertime.Itis
runbytheCornellLabofOrnithology(CLO)outofCornellUniversity,Ithaca,NY.Theprojectis
hostedonlineandcanbefoundatwww.Nestwatch.org.
TheconservationthreatswhichNestwatch.orgishelpingtotacklearehabitat
fragmentationandhumandisturbance.Thefragmentationofhabitatcausesmanyproblemsfor
conservationisttryingtoobserveavianpopulationsoverspaceandtime.Mostofthe
fragmentationisoccurringonprivatelandswheremonitoringeffortscouldbeconsidered
intrusive.Nestwatch.orgallowscitizenstoprovidenestingdataovertimeandspaceabouttheir
privatelandtotheorganizationwherespecialistsfromallovertheglobecanhaveaccesstoit
(Phillips&Dickinson2009).
Thedataprovidesavianpopulationreproductionratesandresponsesindemographic
shiftsduetohabitatchangesandresponsestoclimatechange.Thenestinginformationoccurs
overlarge(thinkcontinent)swathsoflandwhichotherwisewouldnotexistsallowing
researcherstotacklenewandoldquestionsregardingavianpopulations(Phillips&Dickinson
2009).
Alongwithhelpingtoworkaroundlandrights,Nestwatch.orggreatestcontribuationto
conservationeffortsresidesintheeducationtheyprovidetocitizenscienctists.Theeducation
connectshumanstotheirownbackyardsandhelpsfosterasenseofdutyandinitiativeforlocal
conservationactivities(Evanetal2005).Nestwatch.orgalsohelpsspecalistsunderstandavian
nestingresponsestohumandisturbances,mainlyinfastructureie.aparkinggarage,andwhich
speciesaremostvulnerabletohumandisturbances.
Nestwatch.orgalsoworkstoeducateitsparticpantsinhowtobuildsuitablenesting
habitats(birdhouses)withspeciesspecificbirdhouseinstructions.Finally,Nestwatch.orgcan
connectspecalistsfromallovertheglobewhomareabletomonitorendangeredandsecrative
species,providingamuchlargerpictureaboutavianpopulations(Phillips&Dickinson2009).

WhatamIdoing?

Iamsettingoutintomylocalneighborhoodsandlookingforneststhatareactive(adult
activity,presenceofeggs,presenceofhatchlingsorfledglings).Iusedthesheetpicturedbelow
tocollectdataonthenestlocation,thespecies,andtheactivitytakingplacewithinthenest.
ThenestdatawhichisonthesheetwastheninputtedintoNestwatch.orgsdatabase.While
inputtingthedataintoNestwatch.orgsdatabasemappingthelocationdigitallyisneededanda
criticalstepindatacollection.Mappinganestlocationintheirdatabaseisassimpleasentering
anaddressintoyourphone'sGPS.

(Nest
CheckData
Sheets)

ProjectDesign:

Thenestinginformationthatisgatheredbythecertifiednestwatchersisenteredintothe
Nestwatch.orgdatabase.TheinformationispresentedbyNestwatchviaitsMapRoom,
YearEndReports,andDataDownloads.TheMapRoomisaninteractivemapshowingthe
locationofnestingsiteswhichisuserdefinablebyyearandspecies.TheYearEndReportsare
anewfeaturebyNestwatchasof2016thatpresentsyearlynestingdataanalyzedbyscientists
inamagazinetypeformatcalledNestWatchDigest.TheDigesthighlightsinterestingdata
trends,likehownestingdatesofmanybirdspeciesarestartingearlierintheyearinresponseto
climatechange(Courter2016),andotherupdatesaboutNestwatch.org.
TheDataDownloadsareusedbycitizenscientistsandprofessionalsaliketolookfor
answerstoresearchquestionsandtoseeiftheyfindanyinterestingdiscoverieswithinthedata.
TheDownloadsareaallowsuserstodownloadnestingdatabyspecies,year,andlocation.It
alsoallowsyoutogeneratereportsbasedsolelyonaspecies,reproductivesuccess,andthe
rawdatasheetsassociatedwithnestingattempts(liketheoneIusedinthisproject).

AsaavianlaypersonIfoundtheMapRoomfeaturebyNestwatchtobethemost
interestingandeasilyaccessed/understood.Thedesignofthemapisverymacroandyouare
abletospecifywhichspeciesandyearyouwouldliketolookatbutyoucannotinvestigatea
singularnestdataentryie.clutchsize,specificlocation(GPScoords),theamountoftimespent
atthenestsite,anythingmicrorelatedtothesingularnest.Theonlywaytorelatedatatothe
mapisviatheDataDownloadssection.Itwouldbeusefulandtobeabletoselectasinglenest
pointontheMapRoomwhichwouldallowyoutoseetheDataDownloadinformation.
Nestwatchhaspresentedthisdatathatiseasilyaccessiblewhichallowsfor
professionalsandlaypersonstogeneratetheoriesandmakeobservationsregardingavian
populations,specificspeciesdiscoveries,responsebypopulationstoclimatechange,andso
on.Nestwatch.orgprovidesonitswebsitealinktopublicationswhereNestwatch.orgdatahas
beenused/cited.Thepublishedworkscanbefoundhere:SpeciesDescriptions,Citizen
Science,BirdscopeArticles,andResearch.

PublicOutreach:

Nestwatchisacitizenscienceprojectthatmergestheold,paperbasedsystemsofthe
pastwiththemoderntechnologyofthecomputerandGPS.Ithasonefootinboththeoldand
newwithroomtotakeastepfullymodernisation,whichitneedstodoinordertocapturethe
nextgenerationofnestwatchers.BythisImeantheyneedtocreateasmartphoneapplication
thatallowsyoucapturephotosofnestswhichareGPStagged,dated,anduploadeddirectlyto
theirdatabase.MuchlikewhatiNaturalist.orghascreated.Withthosethreedimensions
(paper,computerentry,phoneentry)youhavetheabilitytodrawfromallthecurrent
generationsandbeyond.
Nestwatch.orghasapositiveimpactonconservationsoloelyfromitsbulletededucation
briefandassociatedquizyoumustcomplete.Theinformationobtainedfromthisdeliverytaught
methatitwasillegaltomoveabird'snestordisturbthem,oddly,IdidnotknowthatandIfeel
mostpeoplewouldtakebirdsnestsmuchmoreseriousiftheyknewlegalconsequencesarea
threatifyoudisturbanest.Alongwitheducationthecontinentalamountofinformationgathered
inasinglelocationallowsscientiststocommunicateandcollaborateonanalyzingfromacross
theglobe.
Idofeelthatbirdswhosenestsarephysicallydifficulttoreachareaproblemforcitizen
nestwatchersandanydataenteredaboutthemthosedifficulttoreachnestscouldbelimitedor
inaccurate.Also,becauseofthenatureofcitizenscience,alldatagatheredisusedand
analyzedwiththeunderstandingthatthecollectorsofdataarenotprofessionalsandthe
identificationofspeciescouldbeinaccuratebecauseofthis.

ParticipationJournal:

BeforeIcouldgooutintheareaandstartlookingfornestsIhadtobecomeacertified
nestwatchermonitor.TodothisIhadtoreadtheinformationprovidedviaNestwatch.organd
passashortmultiplechoicequiz.AfterIpassedthequizIwasableandeducatedtogooutand

collectdata.Themostemphasizedinformationregardingnestwatchingishowtocollectnest
datawithoutnegativelyimpactingthenestingandclutch(amountofeggs)size.

(FirstnestwatchingattemptinBurke,VA)

MyfirstoutingintotheworldofnestwatchingwasinmyneighborhoodofBurke,VAon
July16thwhichendedupnettingmeawhopping0activenestsbutwithmanygeesesightings.I
didseeagroupingofvineswhichcouldofbeenanestbutdidnotinvestigatedotopoor
accesstothearea
Onmysecond,andfirstsuccessful,adventureinnestwatchingIwasatworkand
discussingthisprojectwithmycoworkerswhenoneoftheminformedmethattheparking
garagehadanactivenestandthatIshouldcheckitout.Duringlunchon08/01/16Ididjustthat
andwashappilysurprisedtobelookingupatnot1activenestbut2!Isnappedphotosofthe
nestsandzoomedinasmuchasIcould.Thenestsarelocatedabout2030feetabovethe
groundinthemiddleofgaragesroad.Thismadegettinganycloseinspectionofthenests
unfortunatelyimpossible.ThefirstnestlocatedwasaptlynamedJaneliaGarage2(pictured
below)becauseithad2young,fully,featheredyounghangingoutinthenest.

(Janelia
Garage2)

ThespeciesremainedamysterytomeandIhadtouseNestwatch.organdgoogleto
identifythefledgings.ThespeciesisHirundorusticaorcommonlyknownastheBarnswallow
andtheyounghavedistinctcoloringwhichmadethemeasilyidentifiable.Unfortantly,
Nestwatch.orgdidnothavepicturesofyoungBarnswallowssoIhadtousegoogletoconfirm.
AfteridentifyingthefirstnestIwonderediftherewereanymoreandsetofflookingforsome.I
happeneduponanestinprogressoranabandonednestthatIwasabletoreachupandtakea
pictureintousingmyphone,picturedbelow.

(AttemptedNest)

Imovedonandfoundaclutchof4fledglingsallwaitingfortheparentstoreturnwith
food.InamedthisnestJaneliaGarage4,below.Iknow,realcreative.Thisnestisalsothe
samespecies,Barnswallows,andappearedtobethesameagegroupasthefirstnest,fully
featheredyoung.

(Janelia
Garage4)

OncemyNestCheckDatasheetswerefilledout,onepernest,Iwaited4days(08/05/2016)
beforecheckingthenestsagain.WhatIfoundonmyreturnwasJaneliaGarage2wasempty
andJaneliaGarage4contained1youngthatwasnotshowingsignsoflifeorwassleeping
withoutmoving.Ididobserve4Barnswallowssittingonapipeclosetoneststhough.Icannot
confirmthattheyarefromthenestsbecauseIdidnotobservethemleavingorgoingtothem
butIwouldnotknowwhereelsetheycouldhavecomefrom.

(JaneliaGarage4with1probablydeadfledgling)(JaneliaGarage2,emptyon
08/05/2016)

References:

Nestwatch.org

Phillips,T.,andJ.L.Dickinson.2009.TrackingthenestingsuccessofNorthAmericasbreeding
birdsthroughpublicparticipationinNestWatch.Pages633640inT.D.Rich,C.Arizmendi,D.
W.Demarest,andC.Thompson,editors.ProceedingsoftheFourthInternationalPartnersin
Flightconference,1316February2008,McAllen,Texas.PartnersinFlight,McAllen,Texas,
USA.[online]URL:http://www.partnersinflight.org/pubs/mcallenproc/toc.cfm

Evans,Celia,etal."TheNeighborhoodNestwatchProgram:ParticipantOutcomesofaCitizenScience
EcologicalResearchProject."ConservationBiology,vol.19,no.3,2005.,pp.
589594.doi:10.1111/j.15231739.2005.00s01.x.