39479 Views (as of 05/2023)
  1. Miyoko Chu
  2. https://www.linkedin.com/pub/miyoko-chu/b/3b2/799
  3. Senior Director of Communications
  4. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  5. Cornell Lab of Ornithology
  1. David Bonter
  2. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/bonter/
  3. Director of Citizen Science
  4. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  5. Cornell Lab of Ornithology
  1. Jennifer Borland
  2. Senior Research Associate
  3. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  4. Rockman et al
  1. Charles Eldermire
  2. http://www.linkedin.com/in/celdermire
  3. Bird Cams Project Leader
  4. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  5. Cornell Lab of Ornithology
  1. Rachael Mady
  2. Graduate Student
  3. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  4. Cornell Lab of Ornithology
  1. Tina Phillips
  2. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/netcommunity/page.aspx?pid=1677
  3. Research & Evaluation Manager
  4. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  5. Cornell Lab of Ornithology
  1. Benjamin Walters
  2. https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-walters-283461105/
  3. Bird Cams Communication Specialist
  4. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  5. Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Presenters’
Choice
Public
Choice

Live Science: Co-Creating Investigations with Bird Cams

NSF Awards: 1713225

2018 (see original presentation & discussion)

Adult learners, Informal / multi-age

Each year, more than a million people watch the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's live streaming Bird Cams, witnessing the lives of birds unfolding up close, often in surprising ways. What if viewers from around the world could share observations and questions about what they're seeing and work together to make new discoveries? Our project aims to build online tools and spaces for viewers and scientists to co-create investigations using live cams. Pushing beyond the boundaries of traditional citizen science, participants will be able to join each step of the scientific process: Observing birds on the cams; Asking, discussing, and choosing research questions in online forums and live Q&As; Collecting data by tagging live and archived video; Analyzing and Interpreting results with interactive visualizations; and Sharing the findings online. The impact? By bringing field biology into living rooms, people of all walks of life will be able to observe and explore the natural world together, synthesizing new knowledge for science. Through evaluation, we will learn how these experiences may deepen science skills and knowledge of birds and the environment. In a time when powerful new technologies are transforming the potential for online and real-time collaboration, this project will also reveal how to create effective tools and supports for research co-created by communities at national and international scales.

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Discussion from the 2018 STEM for All Video Showcase (50 posts)
  • Icon for: Miyoko Chu

    Miyoko Chu

    Lead Presenter
    Senior Director of Communications
    May 13, 2018 | 10:23 p.m.

    Thanks for stopping by and watching our video! We are in the first year of our project and are now in the design phase, creating the first online activities and getting ready to test them with participants for formative feedback. We're excited about this project because we see online collaboration emerging organically from the community watching these cams. Viewers share all kind of questions and help answer known ones based on references they can find as well as their own past experience watching the cams. These cams are revealing a whole new perspective on birds, including observations that are not well documented in the scientific literature. Our project will build an online collaborative space to realize the potential for viewers to generate questions, select a few that they're most interested in investigating, and work with scientists to annotate and analyze video footage to reveal new insights.

     
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    Charles Eldermire
  • Icon for: William Spitzer

    William Spitzer

    Facilitator
    Vice President
    May 14, 2018 | 07:40 a.m.

    I am impressed by the ways in which you are building on the rising public interest in these live camera feeds to create opportunities for deeper engagement in science. The range and quality of the video feeds you are working with is great, and there is so much interesting behavior to work with.

    I am really interested in how you are thinking about how best to facilitate these interactions, in terms of balancing the structure of science inquiry and the organic nature of public discussions. Have you learned anything about this yet (I realize you are still in the design phase), or are you thinking about building on a particular theory or method of facilitation?

     
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    Charles Eldermire
  • Icon for: Miyoko Chu

    Miyoko Chu

    Lead Presenter
    Senior Director of Communications
    May 14, 2018 | 08:53 a.m.

    Hi William, thanks for your question about how to balance the nature of organic discussions with facilitated interactions around an investigation. An example of an organic discussion occurred on our Barn Owl cam after record-breaking rains and flooding coincided with the disappearance of the male owl. With only the mother left to care for the young, the nestlings weren't getting enough to eat. Around this time, viewers noticed an unknown male owl that came to the nest for several nights, sometimes entering the box and harassing the youngsters inside, once carrying a nestling out of the box, and other times being chased away by the female as she brought in prey. Viewers were very worried about the nestlings and avidly followed these events around the clock, discussing this mystery owl's behavior and speculating about its identity and motives. Our staff joined these discussions, sharing information from the scientific literature, adding insights from Barn Owl experts, and prompting further questions and discussions (one hypothesis is that it may have been a young owl from a nearby nest, hungry and hoping for a handout from its neighbors). This type of dynamic is what we hope to foster as we engage participants in discussions around each phase of the process, starting with generating questions. We would like our facilitation to support collaborative inquiry but we haven't settled on a particular method. We would welcome suggestions from all about what may work well for the online, co-created dynamic we aspire to create through forums and live Q&A sessions.

     
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    Billy Spitzer
  • Icon for: Miyoko Chu

    Miyoko Chu

    Lead Presenter
    Senior Director of Communications
    May 14, 2018 | 09:24 a.m.

    In addition to the example above that involved staff as facilitators, we have wonderful volunteer moderators who help answer questions and foster discussions, as well as active participants whose voices and observations help shape conversations and the flow of information. It's our goal for everyone to continue feeling comfortable sharing questions and insights, and leading conversations as they have been doing, while adding just enough structure and support toward enabling a new common purpose of investigation.

     
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    Billy Spitzer
  • Icon for: William Spitzer

    William Spitzer

    Facilitator
    Vice President
    May 17, 2018 | 07:42 a.m.

    Thanks Miyoku, those examples are really helpful! It would be great to experiment and learn from the different kinds of investigations and interactions that develop organically and with the help of facilitators. This kind of research could be really useful for other citizen science efforts. There is so much video out there, and we need good models for what kinds of citizen science investigations really work.

  • Icon for: Claire Pillsbury

    Claire Pillsbury

    Facilitator
    Program Director
    May 14, 2018 | 02:03 p.m.

    It is impressive how productive these online data coding and phenomena observation projects have become for phenomena of the natural world given that the first online efforts were in astronomy.  What kinds of data are you asking your participants to code as your initial framework?  Would you also be able or open to incorporating additional data parameters if they emerge as part of your avid online observer participants?  Laura Trouille spoke in March of how online participants are productive data coders for the "known knowns" but also the "unknown knowns" and most intriguingly, the "unknown unknowns" in this talk, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CeRYEczT2Y

     

     
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    Billy Spitzer
    Charles Eldermire
  • Icon for: Benjamin Walters

    Benjamin Walters

    Co-Presenter
    Bird Cams Communication Specialist
    May 14, 2018 | 02:55 p.m.

    Thanks for your interest, Claire—and for sharing the link to Laura Trouille's talk! You're absolutely right; we now have such an opportunity to engage the public in co-created science now that there are tools and applications being developed that make it possible. With each new investigation, the data that participants end up annotating will really depend on the questions that they are interested in investigating. Data collection will be mostly focused around what is visible on camera, but we also envision that there will be opportunities to measure other parameters by installing instruments (e.g. a thermometer, rain gauge, etc.) at the cam site or by incorporating existing data sets that are already being recorded. In the first stage of the process, researchers will be working with participants to develop a testable question that is agreed upon based on the interests and observations of those involved in the question-asking process. From there, we'll be collaborating with Laura and Zooniverse to build projects that will facilitate the data annotation process from archived footage. We also hope to incorporate live annotation, where participants can tag data while watching the cams in real time! 

     
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    Billy Spitzer
  • Rebecca Maryott

    K-12 Teacher
    May 16, 2018 | 08:41 p.m.

    This whole project is close to me, as I've been a viewer of online bird cams for a few years now intermittently.  It's a way that my grandmother and I connect, even while we're a few hours apart from each other.  Always a fun topic of conversation to compare what we spotted on the various bird cameras!

    As a teacher, I find it inspiring that there is a community-involved, inquiry-based research project happening.  Your team's willingness to add data collection instruments to the cameras sites, and lead collaborative discussions is amazing!  The data that is collected can open up anyone to the lives of these marvelous animals.

    What is the process like for a viewer to start working closer to the research team as a volunteer?  Do you accept data from anyone, or are there specific viewers who can report data?

     
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    Randall Santamaria
    Charles Eldermire
  • Icon for: Charles Eldermire

    Charles Eldermire

    Co-Presenter
    Bird Cams Project Leader
    May 16, 2018 | 08:53 p.m.

    Hi Rebecca-thanks for sharing how the cams have impacted your life personally! We're still working on the exact methodology behind the entire project, trying to do formative evaluation for each stage as we engage viewers in the effort. Data collection is in some ways one of the most straightforward aspects of the project, though, in that once protocols are established and tools are defined for gathering data, almost anyone who pays attention to those protocols and tools would be empowered to submit valid data. Thanks for commenting!

     
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    Randall Santamaria
  • Icon for: Miyoko Chu

    Miyoko Chu

    Lead Presenter
    Senior Director of Communications
    May 18, 2018 | 10:42 a.m.

    Hi Rebecca, thanks for your comment. It's wonderful to hear that you've watched the cams and that it's been a way that you've connected with your grandmother. Data collection will be open to anyone using the Zooniverse platform. Hope you'll stay in touch as we start rolling out activities for testing!

     
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    Randall Santamaria
  • Icon for: Laura Cisneros

    Laura Cisneros

    Informal Educator
    May 14, 2018 | 02:14 p.m.

    Hi Miyoko, Great project! Do you all recruit citizen scientists for this project? Or how do you make the public aware of the project and how they can get involved?

     

     
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    Charles Eldermire
  • Icon for: Benjamin Walters

    Benjamin Walters

    Co-Presenter
    Bird Cams Communication Specialist
    May 14, 2018 | 02:36 p.m.

    Thanks for your question, Laura! At the beta stage, we'll be recruiting a select number of participants from the thousands of viewers that watch the Bird Cams everyday. From there, we'll be promoting the project across our social media pages, on our website (www.allaboutbirds.org/cams), and through our bi-weekly eNewsletter, opening up the project to anyone who wants to participate. We expect that most of our participants will have already been involved in watching the Bird Cams at some level, but we will invite anyone with an interest in citizen science and community investigations to join the project.

  • Icon for: Julianne Mueller-Northcott

    Julianne Mueller-Northcott

    Facilitator
    Science Teacher
    May 15, 2018 | 10:13 a.m.

    You had me at the laysan albatross! It is absolutely amazing to think of 4,000 years of viewing hours and the amount of data that represents. As a formal classroom teacher, do you have any plans for including formal educators/classrooms in your project? I was draw in by the references to the NGSS science practices and started thinking about how this sort of data collection would be incredibly valuable to my biology students. I was curious if you had some ideas for how your resource could be a part of some formal curriculum. 

     
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    Charles Eldermire
  • Icon for: Charles Eldermire

    Charles Eldermire

    Co-Presenter
    Bird Cams Project Leader
    May 15, 2018 | 10:49 a.m.

    Hi Julianne—

    Our education program here at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has created curriculum modules for educators to use with cams (http://www.birdsleuth.org/cams4educators/) and hosted webinars in the past to train educators in using the curriculum. They've also developed some albatross-specific content (http://www.birdsleuth.org/perfectday/) that goes along with a children's book that we released recently.  Finally (and more broadly) they've created resources for helping educators integrate inquiry-based learning using many different kinds of resources, from direct observation to web-oriented data or cams: http://www.birdsleuth.org/investigation/

    There's no explicit plan in this current grant to address formal education environments. We agree it's a very interesting and fruitful area to work toward. Thanks for sharing your comments!

     
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    Randall Santamaria
    Julianne Mueller-Northcott
  • Icon for: Julianne Mueller-Northcott

    Julianne Mueller-Northcott

    Facilitator
    Science Teacher
    May 15, 2018 | 01:22 p.m.

    I can wait to check it out! We study the migration patterns and also human impact on the albatross in my marine biology class and I am looking forward to see if I can incorporate your resources. Thanks so much! 

     
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    Charles Eldermire
  • Icon for: Miyoko Chu

    Miyoko Chu

    Lead Presenter
    Senior Director of Communications
    May 18, 2018 | 10:51 a.m.

    Hi Julianne, it's thrilling to think about the potential for classrooms to engage in collaborative research with the cams. Although we are developing the project prototype for lifelong learners, if it's successful, we hope that the project can be developed to take life in classrooms someday. Even though our prototype will not be specifically designed for classrooms, it would be really interesting if any teachers would want their classes to participate, for example, by having teachers submit questions on behalf of the students, tuning in to some of the live Q&As, or having some of the same kinds of discussions as the adult participants around what is a testable question, etc. We know there will be a lot of kinks to work out in such a dynamic system, but if any teachers are interested in plugging in (potentially starting with feeder cams next fall and nest cams next spring), we would welcome it! Our email address is birdcams@cornell.edu.

  • Alex Gurn

    Researcher
    May 15, 2018 | 12:16 p.m.

    Excellent video! What a rich topic and fertile ground for deepening citizens’ engagement in science. I am curious how you will to manage the collaborative process and incorporate citizens interests and curiosities, as well as the extent to which their voices will shape the research agenda. 

    I look forward to learning more. And watching the bird cams with my daughter. 

     
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    Charles Eldermire
  • Icon for: Charles Eldermire

    Charles Eldermire

    Co-Presenter
    Bird Cams Project Leader
    May 15, 2018 | 12:35 p.m.

    Hello Alex-thanks for commenting. Right now that's exactly what we're working on refining! To begin we'll have open-ended commenting forums where observations and potential investigation topics can be discussed by both by staff experts and the viewing community. Polling and upvoting will reinforce topics that the community is interested in, and live Q&As from experts will allow more nuanced and personal discussions of the pros and cons of various questions, too. We imagine the final collaborative research questions to potentially be investigated by the community to rise organically through these discussions, at which point we'll ask participants to vote on a singular question to investigate. A similar process would occur for the design phase, and we hope to have interactive tools available to allow self-led data visualizations to explore the collected data and share novel interpretations. Some of the analysis may ultimately be the task of statistical experts for example, but the process is intended to be collaborative. 

    Glad you & your daughter like the bird cams! Just getting ready to launch our hummingbird feeder cam this afternoon—check it out later today when it goes live at allaboutbirds.org/texashummers

  • Icon for: Jedda Foreman

    Jedda Foreman

    May 15, 2018 | 01:52 p.m.

    Amazing footage! So inspiring to see. 

    I'm curious how you all approach and/or integrate cultural relevance? Do you have strategies for helping people, especially students, connect to birds that may live far from their homes and in places that look nothing like what they might have seen of the outdoors? Are their connections to environmental justice?

    I could also imagine that using this footage and some of your educator resources could be really cool as either pre- or post- learning experiences after kids have a chance to observe the birds at their school or in their neighborhoods. Have you had any experience linking the videos to real observations/questions/inquiry?

     
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    Charles Eldermire
  • Icon for: Charles Eldermire

    Charles Eldermire

    Co-Presenter
    Bird Cams Project Leader
    May 15, 2018 | 02:07 p.m.

    Hi Jedda-thanks for the kind words! 
    Right now the project is squarely aimed at informal science learning, so while educators might use the cams in the classroom and even have kids participate at some scale in the investigations, we've only really scratched the surface of what might be possible in those arenas. 

    We've seen people from across the world feel a connection to the phenomena that are observable on camera. Many viewers didn't have any prior experience with birds and forged their first connections via these cameras. So, while there's definitely a bias to the global coverage of our cams, the focus really has been on what the birds are doing. In some cases (as with endangered species like the California Condor or the Bermuda Petrel), stories much more complex play out both on cam and in the periphery, with commentary and interventions from research scientists becoming part of the content that is streamed to the public. 

    Ultimately, the model of co-created investigations is ripe for georgraphically-spread-out populations investigating many different topics, including those related to environmental justice, that are important to them. The only missing elements are the platform to converse, share, and investigate, and a data source that is more-or-less equally accessible to participants.

    To your last point, our education program here at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has created inquiry-oriented curriculum modules for educators to use with cams (http://www.birdsleuth.org/cams4educators/) and hosted webinars in the past to train educators in using the curriculum. They've also developed some albatross-specific content (http://www.birdsleuth.org/perfectday/) that goes along with a children's book that we released recently.  Finally (and more broadly) they've created resources for helping educators integrate inquiry-based learning using many different kinds of resources, from direct observation to web-oriented data or cams: http://www.birdsleuth.org/investigation/

    T
    hanks for commenting & sharing your thoughts.

     
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    Randall Santamaria
  • Icon for: Miyoko Chu

    Miyoko Chu

    Lead Presenter
    Senior Director of Communications
    May 18, 2018 | 11:00 a.m.

    Jedda, I love your questions about linking the videos to observations in the real world, because we do hope that the cams inspire people to make connections with the birds outdoors and in their own neighborhoods. We do have qualitative information from our surveys that this is an outcome for some participants (e.g., teachers taking their classes outdoors and pointing out connections, whether looking for hawks passing overhead or, in cases locally here, even bringing classes to the cam site on the Cornell campus to see the very same hawks who are featured on our cam!). In one case we had a young teenager who had never seen a Great Blue Heron before, but connected with them on the cams, became an expert within the cam community, and then connected with herons in the wild. All of this has happened without explicit supports, and I think there is much more potential to foster such linkages.

  • Icon for: David DeLiema

    David DeLiema

    Researcher
    May 15, 2018 | 01:55 p.m.

    This is a remarkable project. Wow.

     

    Charles, following up on your question in a different forum, I'm wondering how these collaborative, online inquiries into bird behavior could seed a new appreciation for failed science. Do you have a sense of questions asked by the public that simply did not pan out? Or perhaps a sense of how researchers and the public adjust their approach to data collection and analysis as problems arise? I wonder how the distributed responsibility of doing the science shapes how individuals experience obstacles when they arise.

     
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    Charles Eldermire
  • Icon for: Charles Eldermire

    Charles Eldermire

    Co-Presenter
    Bird Cams Project Leader
    May 15, 2018 | 02:31 p.m.

    Thanks David-

    We're just getting underway right now, so it's hard to know how the role of "failure" will work out. A lot of the facilitation of the discussion will (i think) involve almost a teaching mentality of helping participants increase their awareness of the tools that are available to answer questions and how to frame answerable questions. Which isn't to stifle the brainstorming efforts that typically brew up some of the most interesting (but unanswerable) ideas! But to try to reinforce that question-asking itself is a skill, as is observation and communicating accurately about what is observed.  Ideally the first few iterations of this model will be successful in generating interesting data and outcomes, because that will probably be more engaging than otherwise. But as more investigations are undertaken and co-created investigations spread, the likelihood of a particular question not working out should become inevitable, and it will be interesting to see how invested communities react and move on. Thanks for the interesting thought!

  • Icon for: Miyoko Chu

    Miyoko Chu

    Lead Presenter
    Senior Director of Communications
    May 18, 2018 | 12:42 p.m.

    David, I appreciate your question about failed science because messiness and failure are a part of authentic science. As Charles mentioned, we'll be supporting communities as best we can toward successful outcomes at the outset but as we build more of a critical mass of activity, we will surely run into obstacles to overcome or even dead-ends. It would be amazing if, in the future, this type of platform becomes a living laboratory with even more ownership by participants, perhaps with input from scientists when and if they choose to seek it. I like to imagine that such experiences wouldn't have to be curated as much by an institution behind it compared with these fledgling stages to establish a prototype. We've seen cases in the realm of wildlife cams where participants take initiative on their own to summarize and share data, and it would be a true success if someday people could initiate their own investigations using these new resources and tools.

  • Icon for: Tonja M Reed

    Tonja M Reed

    K-12 Teacher
    May 15, 2018 | 07:51 p.m.

    I am a preschool teacher and think these videos may become a part of my curriculum!  So Cool (I won't show them the raptor with the dead squirrel).

  • Icon for: Claire Pillsbury

    Claire Pillsbury

    Facilitator
    Program Director
    May 15, 2018 | 07:56 p.m.

    "the circle of life!" ;-)

     
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    Charles Eldermire
  • Icon for: Miyoko Chu

    Miyoko Chu

    Lead Presenter
    Senior Director of Communications
    May 18, 2018 | 12:43 p.m.

    Thanks for considering the cams as part of the preschool curriculum, Tonja!

  • Nancy Haas

    K-12 Teacher
    May 16, 2018 | 09:15 p.m.

    Excellent.  I'll share it wherever I can, including other teachers.

     
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    Benjamin Walters
    Charles Eldermire
  • Icon for: Miyoko Chu

    Miyoko Chu

    Lead Presenter
    Senior Director of Communications
    May 18, 2018 | 12:44 p.m.

    Thank you, Nancy! We're really happy any time the cams can reach kids in classrooms.

  • Icon for: Jennifer Sergeant

    Jennifer Sergeant

    May 17, 2018 | 04:54 a.m.

    I am thrilled for this brilliant idea, enabling worldwide discovery about our beloved birds!  There is so much opportunity to learn by observing, questioning, and documenting through the bird cams.  I grieved losing the 24 hour/7 days a week interaction between scholars and citizen cam viewers, and felt isolated watching with just the tweet feature.  I myself have witnessed many undocumented bird interactions by watching the Cornell bird cams for years, beginning with the Red-tailed hawks.  I have tens of thousands of screen captures to prove it!  Thank you for this exceptional opportunity to learn, Miyoko, Charles and Ben.  Please sign me up for the overnight and early morning shifts!!  5/17/2018  PS. My "role" is Seeker of Knowledge ;) 

     

     
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    Benjamin Walters
    Charles Eldermire
  • Icon for: Benjamin Walters

    Benjamin Walters

    Co-Presenter
    Bird Cams Communication Specialist
    May 17, 2018 | 08:59 a.m.

    Hi Jennifer, thanks for sharing your past experiences with the cams and for expressing interest in our project! Being that these cams are 24 hour windows into the most intimate periods of birds' lives, there is an opportunity to unearth new discoveries (both through one-off observations and more structured investigations) that may not have been possible through typical research methods. We are really excited to start formative testing and eventually have people like yourself participating in co-created investigations. If you are interested in participating, consider signing up for our Bird Cams eNewsletter (http://dl.allaboutbirds.org/birdcams-enews-abtest) to ensure that you get an announcement when the project opens up to the public.

     
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    Randall Santamaria
    Charles Eldermire
  • Icon for: Jennifer Sergeant

    Jennifer Sergeant

    May 17, 2018 | 09:48 a.m.

    Good morning Ben,

    I am very interested in participating in any way.  The possibilities are so exciting!  And I have many questions!  Thank you for the abtest link.  I do receive the regular AAB info, but signed up for this as well.

     
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    Charles Eldermire
    Benjamin Walters
  • Icon for: Miyoko Chu

    Miyoko Chu

    Lead Presenter
    Senior Director of Communications
    May 18, 2018 | 10:32 a.m.

    Hi Jennifer, thanks so much for your note--it's wonderful to hear how much you valued the greater degree of interaction before, and that you have been such a keen observer this whole time (along with screen caps!). Great that you have signed up for the Bird Cams eNews, and please feel free to email me at birdcams@cornell.edu; would love to stay in touch.

     
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    Randall Santamaria
  • Icon for: Kevin Floyd

    Kevin Floyd

    Researcher
    May 18, 2018 | 02:55 p.m.

    Great video, and of course birds are awesome :)  I'll be interested to see how you manage the co-creation part of this project.  I'm thinking of the potential logistical challenges of having people submit ideas, vetting/improving the ideas (either by facilitators or the community), and then developing the observation protocols.  Like someone said earlier in the comments, getting people to submit data on a particular project seems relatively easy, especially compared to some of the other aspects.  Good luck, and I'm looking forward to learning more in the future!

    Kevin

     
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    Charles Eldermire
  • Icon for: Charles Eldermire

    Charles Eldermire

    Co-Presenter
    Bird Cams Project Leader
    May 18, 2018 | 03:16 p.m.

    Great point, Kevin (I just popped over to watch your video as well—great project~!). One thing we know is that people are asking questions at various scales all the time while watching the live cams, and the big challenge in this first phase will be to develop tools, resources, and a culture that can be constructively critical enough to wind up with testable, interesting questions to continue working on. Thanks for the vote of support!

     
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    Randall Santamaria
  • Lois Masso

    Informal Educator
    May 18, 2018 | 05:09 p.m.

    I have been a watcher of Big Red and Ezra since the cameras were first turned on in 2012.  Each spring meant more opportunities to watch them raise their beautiful family.  With what happened to Ezra last year, those of us avid watchers were devastated by what happened to Ezra.  But it wasn't long before we watched Big Red find a new suitor and were able to watch the videos that Karel and Bogette sent when they'd find them and show them together.  We watched as (Winken as he was then known) shed his juvenile tail feathers and became an adult male with a gorgeous red tail!!  Our hopes continued as we watched them together all winter and hoped they had bonded and would remain a couple. Then we watched as BR would show him how to do nestorations!!  We marvel at how he seemed to know exactly what to do with little guidance.  He was a natural at what a male RTH was programmed to do.  And he's done a superb job at fulfilling his duties.  Watching the matings gave us hope for the continuation of the pleasure of watching our beloved hawks continuing the tradition of BR laying 3 eggs, hatching 3 healthy chicks, and raising them to fledge.  Watching Arthur hunt and providing prey for his growing family (especially chipmunks!!!) proves BR found a perfect new mate.  We couldn't be more happy with that outcome.  So we call her a 'cougar' as she is 16 y/o and he is only 2!! Let's hope that means she'll be around for many more years of raising babies.

    I also watch the Iris/Louis osprey nest.

    Several of my friends now watch the nests provided by the Cornell cam links that I've sent them.  Thank you for providing such an opportunity.  I've been a wildlife lover since I was a little girl.   I'm still am passionate about preserving wildlife species at the age of EIGHTY-ONE!!   Yes, that's 81.

    Thank you.  Continued success with educating the public (especially the classrooms).  Nurture their interest.

     

     

     
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    Charles Eldermire
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    Charles Eldermire

    Co-Presenter
    Bird Cams Project Leader
    May 21, 2018 | 08:23 a.m.

    Thanks for sharing your observations and experiences watching the cams, Lois! Here's to many more years of learning about the birds together.

  • Icon for: Miyoko Chu

    Miyoko Chu

    Lead Presenter
    Senior Director of Communications
    May 21, 2018 | 05:34 p.m.

    Thanks for your comments, Lois. I miss Ezra. We learned a lot from him and are learning a lot from Arthur. Your observations remind me of what a privilege it is to be able to witness a hawk's very first nesting season!

  • Icon for: Randall Santamaria

    Randall Santamaria

    Informal Educator
    May 20, 2018 | 03:28 p.m.

    ¡Excelente trabajo, muchas felicidades!

    Además nos sirve de gran motivación para el trabajo que desarrollamos en las comunidades de Costa Rica, con BirdSleuth y Celebrate Urban Birds y la aplicación eBird.

    Esperamos algún día poner cámaras en nuestro país para que más personas puedan ver las aves, pura vida.

    www.motmotproject.ga

     
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    Charles Eldermire
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    Charles Eldermire

    Co-Presenter
    Bird Cams Project Leader
    May 21, 2018 | 08:27 a.m.

    Muchas gracias, Randall! Creo que siempre es mas fácil a empezar algo cuando tiene cosas exteriores para motivar, y en este, las camaras tiene mucha fuerza a hablar con gente en cualquier parte del mundo. Ojala que puede poner un camara en Costa Rica para compartir los aves con todos que pueden ver. Pura vida!

     
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    Randall Santamaria
  • Icon for: Lamanda Davies

    Lamanda Davies

    K-12 Teacher
    May 20, 2018 | 09:31 p.m.

    I live near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and we have a live bird cam that centers on a bald eagle nest. Each year, more and more people become aware of these cams and develop an interest in watching these beautiful creatures build their nest, lay eggs, protect those eggs, sometimes in extreme weather conditions, and fend off predators. In time, everyone patiently waits, hopeful that the eggs all hatch and the young grow into healthy eagles. Your project gives a much more in-depth perspective and provides new insights into the lives of our avian neighbors. When I spotted your presentation, I was thankful to see something like this being done. Excellent work.

     
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    Randall Santamaria
    Charles Eldermire
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    Charles Eldermire

    Co-Presenter
    Bird Cams Project Leader
    May 21, 2018 | 08:30 a.m.

    Thanks Lamanda—

    I've followed many of the Pittsburgh cams over the years and participated in some of the technical discussions about what kinds of tech to use. I like that you bring up the issue of patience, of watching together—these themes are pretty consistent across cameras and years, and really drive home the difference between watching curated content (like Planet Earth) vs. life unfolding. Thanks for your comments—looking forward to learning together online!

     
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    Randall Santamaria
  • Anthony Tilke

    May 21, 2018 | 05:06 a.m.

    Getting a fly on the wall view of the life of birds has been a remarkable addition to our lives over the past three years. A great example of technology and the cloud improving lives. Help the education and research by watching and voting.

     
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    Benjamin Walters
    Randall Santamaria
    Charles Eldermire
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    Benjamin Walters

    Co-Presenter
    Bird Cams Communication Specialist
    May 21, 2018 | 09:26 a.m.

    Thanks for the vote of confidence, Anthony! It's inspiring to hear how the cams have had such an impact on your life, and we hope that this project will take that learning and discovery to the next step. We're excited to get the project out to the public so that cam viewers have the opportunity to participate soon! 

     
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    Charles Eldermire
    Randall Santamaria
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    Jessica Chapman

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 21, 2018 | 09:56 a.m.

    I'm so glad I came across this video! I've shown my 19-month old daughter one of the feeder cam live feeds, and she now LOVES to say grackle! Thank you for this cool project!

     
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    Charles Eldermire
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    Benjamin Walters

    Co-Presenter
    Bird Cams Communication Specialist
    May 21, 2018 | 12:52 p.m.

    Thanks for commenting, Jessica. We're happy to hear that you're daughter enjoys the feeder cams; it sounds like she's on her way to becoming a promising young birder (it's never too early to start!). I just popped over to watch your video, and it looks like a great project as well!

  • Carol Taylor

    May 21, 2018 | 11:04 a.m.

    As a former teacher with a love for science which is the world all around us,  I have been able to view these bird cams with my grandchildren.  It has opened a new world for them; giving them awareness, appreciation, and knowledge.They will go out in this world and be a champion for protecting these wonderful birds.  Thank you.

     

     
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    Charles Eldermire
  • Icon for: Benjamin Walters

    Benjamin Walters

    Co-Presenter
    Bird Cams Communication Specialist
    May 21, 2018 | 01:03 p.m.

    Hi Carol, thanks for this thoughtful note about your experiences with introducing your grandchildren to the bird cams. We've heard a lot of stories like yours, both in educational and family settings, in which teachers and relatives inspire and motivate kids to learn about nature by watching the cams together. It speaks to the potential that they have to encourage younger generations to become more involved in science and in caring for the natural world, and we hope to extend our reach to these young folks as our program grows! Thanks again for sharing.

  • Audrey Gorman

    Informal Educator
    May 21, 2018 | 11:05 a.m.

    The Bird Cams are an amazing intimate glimpse into the lives of birds and how they raise their young. I'm regular at the Missoula, MT osprey cams, totally in love with Iris and Louis and their nest. I also visit the other cams on an increasingly regular basis, learning about owls, red-tailed hawks, and may others. I'm impressed with the information that's provided as we watch and ask questions. There are also materials for teachers who want to use the cams to enrich the science experiences of their students. Thanks for the video and for the ongoing work that helps us understand and more deeply appreciate nature!

     
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    Charles Eldermire
  • Icon for: Rachael Mady

    Rachael Mady

    Co-Presenter
    Graduate Student
    May 21, 2018 | 03:15 p.m.

    Hello Audrey, thanks for tuning into the Bird Cams ad for your thought comments! The Bird Cams are definitely a success thanks to viewers like yourself. Since we are trying to create an online space to encourage informal education and science, and you are an informal educator yourself, your thoughtful comments are great to read and we welcome any suggestions or advice you may have! Plus, once the Bird Cams Lab space is launched, we would love to see you there!

  • Further posting is closed as the event has ended.