A partnership between students and professional scientists, providing an opportunity for inquiry-based interdisciplinary learning about the natural world.
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Which Project Is for Me?

How Does It Work?

Students in grades 4-8 participate in Citizen Science projects in their schoolyards, in parks, at home, or with a club. (Teachers of Kindergarten through 12th grade have successfully used these projects, with some adaptation.)

As young citizen scientists they:

• Study real animals (birds) in their own schoolyards and backyards, and soon become experts on the birds they see.
• Pose questions about birds, then generate original research questions and design and conduct their own research projects to answer those questions.
• Analyze  and graph data.
• Write up and share their results in the classroom and through Classroom Birdscope, the national student journal.

Citizen Science projects span the entire school year -- whatever the season, students can conduct bird research and learn more about the world around them.

Which Project Is for Me?

From studying urban pigeons to monitoring rural birdhouses, one of the following projects is sure to fit your needs.

Check out the Project Guides linked for each project below!

GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT (GBBC)

• Watch your bird feeders, or take a short walk (less than 1 mile) in your back yard, neighborhood, local park, or other natural area.
• For each kind (species) of bird that you see, keep track of the highest number of individuals that you observe at any one time, then enter your results in an online checklist at the GBBC web site.
• Very popular with students and teachers in a variety of educational settings.
• Provides a snapshot of North American bird populations, incorporating results of over 60,000 individual counts within a 4-day period in mid-winter.
  

Focus species: All North American birds
Season: Year-round
Observation area: Urban, suburban, rural
Tools: Binoculars and field guide recommended
Web address: <http://www.ebird.org/index2.jsp>
Teacher Guide: not yet available

• Record the birds you see -- any bird, anywhere, any time.
• Gather data on bird abundance and distribution throughout the year and across the continent
• Record and track your bird observations using customized checklists.
• Learn bird identification while gaining a fuller understanding of bird distribution, abundance, habitat use, and conservation issues
• Contribute to a huge database available to scientists and participants.
  
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CLASSROOM FEEDERWATCH

• Standards-based middle-school curriculum.
• Students set up a bird feeder area in their schoolyard, learn to identify the birds that visit their feeders, and count the highest numbers of each bird species they see at their feeders.
• Engages students in authentic inquiry research.
• Data are used by CLO researchers to track broad-scale movements of winter bird populations and long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance.

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PROJECT
PIGEONWATCH

Did you know that pigeons come in seven different colors?

PigeonWatchers:

• Locate a friendly pigeon flock
• Count how many of each color (morph) are in the flock, and
• Record the colors of courting birds.

The color morphs and courtship behaviors are explained and illustrated in the project materials, along with information about genetics and the history of the fascinating relationship between pigeons and humans.

Two short videos (close captioned) are also available. Project materials are bilingual (English and Spanish).

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THE BIRDHOUSE NETWORK

Participants in Classroom Birdhouse

• Put up birdhouses
• Monitor the activity inside the birdhouses throughout the breeding season.
• Collect valuable information about each nest box including location, type of habitat, and number of eggs and nestlings in the nest.

Researchers at the Lab analyze these data to help determine what, if any, factors contribute to a bird's overall nesting success.

COMING SOON! Links to more citizen science projects studying other aspects of the natural world, such as rivers, bats and butterflies.