Wanted: people who have bird nest boxes or will set one up in the name of science.
If you have one or more nest boxes, you can help scientists learn more about bird families and how climate change might be affecting them, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Register your box or boxes for free with the Cornell lab’s NestWatch program .
The program provides valuable information to better understand breeding birds and how their natural rhythms may be changing, according to a Cornell lab statement.
And if you don’t have a nest box, now is the time to set one up, the statement says.
NestWatch participants visit nests once or twice a week. They report what they see during each visit, such as the species of birds using nest boxes, when the first eggs are laid and the number of eggs and young. The project collects this information for all species of nesting birds in North America, according to the statement.
All materials and instructions are available on the NestWatch web site , including directions on how to monitor nest boxes without disturbing birds, the statement says.
NestWatch participants also monitor the nests of backyard birds that don’t use boxes, such as phoebes, robins and goldfinches, according to the statement.
Meanwhile, you can get a real-time peek at nests and nest boxes across the country by visiting this Web site . Live cameras cover eastern bluebirds, barred owls, wood ducks, barn owls and others, the statement says.
NestWatch is a free nest-monitoring project developed by the Cornell lab in collaboration with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. It is funded by the National Science Foundation, according to the statement.
Photo credit: Cornell Lab of Ornithology