Join NestWatch for a Season of Discovery

Got Barn Swallows plastering mud in the eaves? Perhaps a chubby dove is piling sticks in the window box or a pair of American Robins is scoping out the red maple for a nest site. Keeping an eye on nearby nests can make this spring a season of discovery for you and for scientists hoping to better understand nesting birds. Make this the season to join NestWatch, a citizen-science project from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

NestWatchers have been tracking trends in the nesting success of hundreds of species of birds across the country for nearly 50 years. Participating is easy: map any cup nest or birdhouse location on the NestWatch website at NestWatch.org. Report the species of nesting bird and the timing for how many eggs are laid, how many eggs hatch, and how many young leave the nest. Surprises may be in store as the lives of these feathered families unfold.

During the 2013 NestWatch season, participant Gerald Clark monitored a bluebird nest and noticed one egg was much larger than the others. At hatching time-twin bluebirds emerged!

"It's the first report of twinning in Eastern Bluebirds," says NestWatch project leader Robyn Bailey. "The finding was so notable that it was written up and published in a scientific journal. We learn new things all the time, even about a species as well studied as the Eastern Bluebird."

Researchers are also asking NestWatchers to be on the look-out for nesting Eurasian Collared-Doves. The species was introduced to the Bahamas in the 1970s, entered Florida in the 1980s, and then rapidly colonized most of North America, especially areas converted to agriculture and urban uses. More than 30 years later, scientists still know very little about their breeding habits in North America.

"We don't know how often these doves nest in a single season and how successful they are," says Bailey. "We're interested in any possible effects on native species, especially other kinds of doves, so we're asking anyone who finds a Eurasian Collared-Dove nest to report it to NestWatch."

Monitor one nest or twenty - NestWatch can be a wonderful learning experience for the whole family. Sign up and learn more about how to find and observe nests at www.NestWatch.org.