Category Archives: citizen science

Found a Funky Nest? Enter It in Our New Challenge

Whether you find a robin’s nest on a statue or a hummingbird’s nest on wind chimes, your picture of a bird nest in a funky place can win big in our Funky Nests in Funky Places contest. With nesting season underway, this contest challenges everyone to get outside and watch nature in even the most unexpected [...]

Why So Red, Mr. Cardinal? NestWatch Explains

By Jason Martin and Robyn Bailey In many parts of North America, handsome male Northern Cardinals are already singing to attract mates. A bird so visible in the winter landscape begs the question, “How does a flame-red bird that nests close to the ground manage to be so common?” Many people puzzle over how this [...]

Get ready for the 2013 GBBC with our 2012 photo contest winners

This year’s Great Backyard Bird Count is happening Feb 15–18. Last year’s count set a new record for participation, netting more than 100,000 checklists. This year could be even bigger, because for the first time ever, the GBBC is going global. Drawing on the international reach of eBird‘s online checklists, we can now accept entries [...]

Show how you help birds in “No Bird Left Behind” contest

How can we make life easier for birds in our neighborhoods? That’s the question behind the latest seasonal challenge from Celebrate Urban Birds. This Cornell Lab of Ornithology citizen-scence project focuses on birds in urban settings and how they benefit from green spaces created by humans. Enter by December 15, 2012, and you could win a [...]

Grab your camera and win in new Facebook photo contest!

  As Project FeederWatch gets under way for its 26th season, we’re celebrating with a new photo contest sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods. The contest features weekly prizes for the photo that receives the most votes on the contest page in Facebook. At the end of FeederWatch season, we’ll hold a vote to [...]

What we do: 8 TED-style talks about birds and saving the world

At an event in Washington, DC, this weekend, Cornell Lab directors presented a set of short, crisp, exciting talks about the work that we do. They’re a great introduction to the kinds of exciting research, conservation, and outreach that consume our lives. Lab director John Fitzpatrick kicked things off with his argument that birds really [...]

Project FeederWatch Takes a Look at the Winter Ahead

The 26th season of Project FeederWatch begins November 10, and participants are needed more than ever. By watching your feeders from November through April and submitting what you see, you’re making it possible for scientists to keep track of changing bird populations across the continent. New or returning participants can sign up anytime. After unusual winter weather in some [...]

Celebrate Urban Birds hosts Latino youths for informal summit

 “It feels so fragile!” said Alexis, cupping a tiny Song Sparrow in her hands for the first time. On a hot, sunny August day, Alexis and two dozen other teens were visiting the Cornell Lab as part of an informal summit of Latino youth. Hosted by the Lab’s Celebrate Urban Birds project, the trip capped [...]

Your Funky Nest Could Win a Prize—Submit by July 15

With breeding season in full swing, birds are in a flurry of nesting—that means it’s time for another Funky Nests in Funky Places contest held by our Celebrate Urban Birds project—and you could win prizes for yours. Birds don’t always build in the places you might expect. People have discovered bird nests in boots, grills, flower pots, [...]

Cornell Lab director talks GBBC on Bird Calls Radio [listen now!]

Update: You can now listen to the archive of this broadcast at Bird Calls Radio It’s a week before the start of the 15th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, or GBBC for short. If you’re new to the count, or just want to hear more about how and why it’s done, tune in to Bird [...]