What is involved?

As a member of The Birdhouse Network (TBN), you decide how much time you want to devote to the project. The time you spend monitoring your birdhouses (also called nest boxes) and being a citizen scientist will depend on how many nest boxes you have. Remember, one nest box is all you need.

Here's what you do:

1. Go to the Sign-up page and become an active participant in The Birdhouse Network.

2. Familiarize yourself with some cavity-nesting birds: Specifically, look at the range maps of the birds in the Bird Bios Section to get a sense of which birds you can expect to attract in your area.

3. Examine your habitat: After obtaining a small list of birds that frequent your area during the breeding season (spring and summer), examine the habitat where you will be placing your nest boxes.

4. Visit the Instructions section where you will learn how to:

• Build or buy a quality birdhouse.
• Place your birdhouse up in suitable habitat
• Begin monitoring your birdhouse(s) as soon as you see birds at them.
• Collect data (count eggs and nestlings) for the Clutch Size Study and Nest Site Selection Study (optional) using the TBN Field Worksheets as a guide.

5. Share your observations with us — Let us know what's happening inside each of your boxes by submitting your data. We ask that nesting data from each year be submitted to us by September 30th of that year.

6. Have fun knowing you are helping birds, the environment, and scientific research!

(Note: all the details to complete steps 1-5 are included on this web site!)