Yellow Warbler nest Photo: Tom Wheatley
Have you ever wondered about the domestic lives of birds? Every spring and summer, curious volunteers observe nests and gather valuable information through Project NestWatch.
Project NestWatch is a Citizen Science project coordinated by Bird Studies Canada. Anyone living in Canada can participate for free! Resources are available to help with monitoring, which might include how to safely watch a nest or open a nestbox. Nest locations, chick and egg counts, and other details are then contributed to a national database and used by researchers, naturalists, and educators.
Project NestWatch helps track changes in the health of bird populations and the environment. In 2016, 116 Citizen Scientists monitored 1469 nests across Canada. You can view a selection of the nests observed so far on the Project NestWatch Canada Flickr page.
To learn more or to register, please visit the Project NestWatch webpage.