Jae Onasi Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 ...for their e-bird program.. It's very easy to use, and you'll be contributing to the largest citizen science project in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jawathehutt Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 Hmmm I don't think I could contribute, I never do well when my relatives take me birding, apparently "birdy hunting" is not a synonym of birdying. I do suppose I see their point, birdy hunting sounds far more fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrrtoken Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 I thought that Folding@home was the largest user-contributed science project in the world... That, and most of the birds around my area are dying off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jae Onasi Posted May 16, 2009 Author Share Posted May 16, 2009 Hmmm I don't think I could contribute, I never do well when my relatives take me birding, apparently "birdy hunting" is not a synonym of birdying. I do suppose I see their point, birdy hunting sounds far more fun. Doesn't matter--if you see birds in your backyard and you ID them, you can enter that data into the program. It's as simple as putting the number in the box. It doesn't matter what kind of birds they are--the counts of your common backyard sparrows are just as important as the rare birds seen out in some obscure location. I count the birds in my backyard in the morning and as I drive my kids to school, and enter them into the program. It takes me just a couple of minutes. Granted, I've been birding for nearly 20 years so I know what to expect in my backyard and I don't have to work to ID the birds at all, but that kind of data is just as important to them. They have an urban bird study where they're tracking numbers. I thought that Folding@home was the largest user-contributed science project in the world... That, and most of the birds around my area are dying off. The bird count program has been going on since the 1990's at least--far longer than folding@home. They also do different things, and I don't want to minimize the contributions people make to Folding which are important as well.. Folding@home project allows universities to use your computer, but you are not contributing any data yourself to the studies. In the case of Cornell's bird research, people are actually contributing scientific data with the counts that they report, which is why it's called the largest citizen-science project in the world. Why are the birds in your area dying off? Changes in habitat? Bird flu? Bird conjunctivitis, which hit house finches especially hard a couple years ago? Use of pesticides? That kind of data could be very important too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrrtoken Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 Recent mass development in my county has essentially done away with the local wildlife. Those that weren't killed with the clearing of several isolated pockets of forestation were killed with other human activity, as well as probably pesticides. So, for most of the birds, it's either move on, or adapt to the current urban and suburban environment. Yet, if they choose the latter, they'll probably shooed away as well, and it goes on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miltiades Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 Oh... no data entry allowed from Europe. I guess that counts me out. It'd be fun, though. A lot of birds fly around our area, we even have Great Tits (>.>) making a nest in our backyard. There's also our aviary in our backyard, though I guess the exotic birds there wouldn't count anyway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pavlos Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 I have a mute swan outside my window right now but will Cornell let me record it? Noooooooooo... because I'm in Europe. Racists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jae Onasi Posted May 16, 2009 Author Share Posted May 16, 2009 I'm wondering if they have something equivalent in Europe. @PastramiX--the data on decreasing numbers is just as important for Cornell to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSR Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 The UK has several bird counts in action- the largest I think is ran by the RSPB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jae Onasi Posted May 18, 2009 Author Share Posted May 18, 2009 Here's the link for the Big Garden Birdwatch held in the UK every January. I imagine this organization has other projects available for research, too. Birdlife International hosts EuroBirdwatch which should be happening in October or so this year. Here's a listing of European Birdwatching organizations, available on Birding.com. The individual sites will likely have listings for local/regional/national events in which you can participate. Here's a site for our birding friends Down Under: Birdwatching Australia. This page on centers for Ornithological research may also have some good links for more research projects, and here is a brief listing of different birdwatching organizations. Birding.com's listing of top 25 birding websites will also have some good resources for people around the world. Happy birdwatching. Edit: I found out Cornell feeds this information to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility. You will find all sorts of interesting info at this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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