BirdSleuth

1
BirdSleuth

• Inquiry Through Citizen Science

A Middle School Curriculum Developed by
Funding provided by
2
What does BirdSleuth Provide?

• Opportunity for inquiry
• Outdoor experience
• Authentic use of technology

Through Citizen Science!
3
My dad has a four-wheel-drive truck, and we go
out in the desert, not out in nature or
anything.
4
What is Citizen Science?
5
Gathering Data
6

What is Citizen Science at Cornell?

• People across the continent gather and submit
  data
• Allowing scientists to answer large-scale
  questions
• While promoting
• Environmental awareness
• Scientific literacy
• Conservation of biological diversity

7
Common Redpoll Annual Distribution
8
Citizen Science Projects

• Project FeederWatch
• Project PigeonWatch
• Great Backyard Bird Count
• eBird
• NestWatch
• Celebrate Urban Birds!

9
BirdSlueth Modules

• Most Wanted Birds (eBird)
• Exploring Bird Behavior (Crows Count, Cam
  Clickrs)
• Homeschoolers Guide to Project FeederWatch
  (Project FeederWatch)
• Investigating Bird Reproduction (NestWatch)
• Investigating Evidence (free online
  inquiry lessons and support)

10
Its fun to just be peaceful and quiet for
awhile and listen to birds. BirdSleuth
student,grade 7
11
eBird

• Any bird!
• Anywhere!
• Any time!

12
Silhouettes
13
What species can you recognize?
14
(No Transcript)
15
Whos My Focus Bird?
16
Bird Identification Quiz
17
Curriculum Materials

• Teachers Guide
• Reference Guide
• Investigators
• Journal
• Resource Kit

18
BirdSleuth DataShare it with scientists, and
USE IT yourself!
19
Bird Observations
20
I learned that taking them outside and letting
them do bird observation was a great way to
motivate them to ask questions in science.
(Celebrate Urban Birds Teacher)
21
I Wonder Board
Our Questions About Birds
22
Will a Fake Cat Scare Away Birds?An experiment
by Amy
23
(No Transcript)
24
I enjoy watching all the different birds and how
they fly and what their calls are. I also love to
watch one specific bird for a long time.
(BirdSleuth student)
25
When we didnt get many birds at our feeders,
the kids walked around the school and discovered
that it is virtually a wasteland. Then they
started asking me, cant we do something, plant
something to help the birds?(CFW Teacher)
26
BirdSleuth DataEnter it into eBird, and USE IT!
27
Exploring eBird Data is easy!Go to
www.ebird.org/birdsleuth
click on View and Explore Data
28
(No Transcript)
29
What can we learn about Mourning Doves?
30
FREQUENCY CHART RANGE MAP
31
What can we learn from a frequency chart?
32
Mourning Dove Map
Where is the bird seen MOST often? Where is it
seen LESS often?
33
What is the average count of Mourning Doves in
New York?
34
You can look at up to five birds at a time.
35
You can look at more than one state, too!
36
What Will Your Students Wonder?

• Experiments
• Observational studies
• Research papers
• eBird database questions
• Nature sketches and field notes

37
Send us student work!
38
Thank you Cornell and nature for providing me
with wonderful moments of which Ive not
experienced in my previous eighteen years of
teaching. BirdSleuth teacher
39
If youd like more information, please
contactJennifer Fee

• Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• Curriculum Developer, BirdSleuth
• 607.254.2403 jms327_at_cornell.edu

40
Cornell Lab of Ornithology Resources for Teachers
41
Cornell Lab of Ornithology

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a nonprofit
membership institution whose mission is to
interpret and conserve the earth's biological
diversity through research, education, and
citizen science focused on birds.
42

What is Citizen Science at Cornell?

• People across the continent gather and submit
  data
• Allowing scientists to answer large-scale
  questions
• While promoting
• Environmental awareness
• Scientific literacy
• Conservation of biological diversity

43
Citizen Science projects

• Projects aloneperfect for informal education
  programs
• eBird
• Great Backyard Bird Count
• Project FeederWatch
• Celebrate Urban Birds
• Nestwatch
• BirdSleuthSupport for more formal educational
  programs

44
Birds as biological indicators
How will animals respond to climate change,
habitat loss, land use changes?
44
45
Common Redpoll Annual Distribution
46
What does BirdSleuth provide for youth?

• Outdoor experience
• Authentic use of technology
• Opportunity for inquiry

47
Your Counts Really Matter!
48
Its fun to just be peaceful and quiet for
awhile and listen to birds. BirdSleuth
student,grade 7
49
eBird

• Observe any bird, anywhere, any time!
• Record your observations
• Send your data to the eBird website ltebird.orggt

50
Registering for eBird is Easy!
Go to www.ebird.org and click on Register as a
New User
51
Exploring eBird Data is easy!Go to
www.ebird.org
and click on View and Explore Data
52
Map Key
Mourning Doves were observed x A checklist was
submitted, but no Mourning Doves were reported
White Areas No eBird Report (New York only)
53
What is the average count of Mourning Doves in
New York?
54
Sign up at www.nestwatch.org

• Web site features
• Instructions
• Code of Conduct
• Monitoring protocol
• Resources
• Data sheets
• Data entry retrieval
• Focal species info
• Forums, quizzes

55
Explore Data - First Egg Dates, by State
56
Celebrate Urban Birds!

• Studying bird use of green spaces
• Promoting conservation by connecting people with
  nature
• Engaging new audiences

57
Where?
58
(No Transcript)
59
BirdSleuth The Power and Engagement of Citizen
Science for Teachers and their Students
60
BirdSleuth Curriculum Modulesmaking Citizen
Science accessible to students

• Most Wanted Birds (eBird)
• Exploring Bird Behavior (Crows Count)
• Homeschoolers Guide to Project FeederWatch
  (Project FeederWatch)
• Investigating Bird Reproduction (NestWatch)
• Investigating Evidence (free online inquiry
  lessons and support)

61
Curriculum Materials

• Teachers Guide
• Reference Guide
• Investigators
• Journal
• Resource Kit

62
Which birds did you see? How many of each
species?
63
Silhouettes
64
I learned that taking them outside and letting
them do bird observation was a great way to
motivate them to ask questions in science.
(Celebrate Urban Birds Teacher)
65
What Will Your Students Wonder?

• Questions to answer with experiments
• Observational studies
• Researchable questionseBird database or other
  resources

66
(No Transcript)
67
Will a Fake Cat Scare Away Birds?An experiment
by Amy
68
(No Transcript)
69
Send BirdSleuth your student work!
70
Other Lab Resources

• Multimedia Bird Guide
• Archive of animal sounds and videos
• Live cameras of nesting behavior

71
All About Birds
72
(No Transcript)
73
If youd like more information, please
contactJennifer Fee

• Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• Curriculum Developer, BirdSleuth
• 607.254.2403 jms327_at_cornell.edu