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Become a Citizen Scientist
If you love the outdoors or are curious about wildlife, you could be citizen scientist today! Most citizen science projects are completely free, and involve observing the natural world, then entering your observations online. For as little as 15 minutes once a year, or a little time every day, you can help conduct real, urgently needed scientific research. It doesn’t matter if you live in the middle of a city, or the middle of a forest! Get involved with these projects below, and help make new discoveries now.
Project FeederWatch
Project:
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada
Project Duration:
Weekends at the VINS Nature Center November through March
Project FeederWatch is a winter-long survey of birds that visit feeders in North America. Just count the birds you see at your feeders periodically from November to early April, and send your counts online to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Anyone interested in birds can participate, and the data help scientists track movements of winter bird populations. All you need is a bird feeder!
You may also join VINS in watching our bird feeders in the Crawl Space.
Learn more about Project FeederWatch:
feederwatch.org
eBird
Project:
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society
Project Duration:
Year-round
eBird allows you to submit checklists anytime, anywhere, all year long. A real-time, online checklist program, eBird is amassing one of the largest and fastest growing biodiversity data resources in existence. A birder simply enters when, where, and how they went birding, then fills out a checklist of all the birds seen and heard during the outing.
Check out VINS’ eBird profile to see what’s been visiting us.
Learn more:
ebird.org
NestWatch
Project:
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Project Duration:
Breeding Season
Learn to be an official NestWatcher with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. To participate, you will peek in on the baby birds growing in your yard to gather data for scientists curious about nesting biology. VINS is an official NestWatch chapter, and hosts periodic training days throughout the year, including nestbox building workshops, and nest-checking walks.
Check back often for upcoming events:
View Calendar
Learn more:
nestwatch.org
Great Backyard Bird Count
Project:
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society
Project Duration:
Annually for four days in February
The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is a big weekend of birding for nature lovers across the globe! Over 160,000 people in 130 countries participate each February to collect real-time data about winter bird distributions and abundance. Join VINS every February and help us tally the birds on our property while contributing to real scientific research.
Learn more:
gbbc.birdcount.org