Your Data Is for the Birds Webinar Series

Join our webinar series on community science, exploring how YOU can make a difference for bird conservation!

Did you know that your observations can become meaningful data that scientists use to guide conservation decisions? Community science recruits the public, regardless of experience, to contribute their sightings to large datasets that researchers analyze for critical information like population and behavior trends over time. By engaging the public, community science projects are able to gather way more data than a single scientist or research team, leading to a better understanding of big-picture issues like bird population response to climate change. More good data makes better science, and better science leads to more informed conservation policy. 

As list-keepers, note-takers, photographers, and patient observers, birders are uniquely  equipped to participate in community science. This webinar series will explore three community science projects that invite you to put your birding skills to use for the greater good. Whether you’re already an active participant or interested in starting, learn how your observations are transformed into useful data for the birds!

How Can Photography Help Us Learn More About Oregon’s Seabirds?
Will Kennerley, Oregon State University (OSU)
Wednesday, October 8, 6-7:30 p.m.

Knowledge of species’ food requirements are necessary for effective conservation planning, yet these data are scarce for many of Oregon’s coastal birds. Many traditional methods of diet study are invasive, can disturb breeding birds, and are typically very limited in their spatiotemporal coverage. With the advance of digital photography, however, new noninvasive means of avian diet data collection are now available. Researchers at OSU’s Seabird Oceanography Lab have been using photography to monitor interannual dietary shifts in Oregon’s seabirds to understand how ocean conditions can influence the abundance of critical prey species. What’s more, this method allows anyone  with a camera to assist in data collection. Birds with Fish, an OSU participatory science initiative,  invites community members to contribute photographs of feeding marine/estuarine birds to statewide data collection efforts so that we can learn how to best protect Oregon’s incredible  seabirds.

Will Kennerley is a faculty research assistant in the Seabird Oceanography Lab at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. Will first came to OSU in 2020 for his MSc degree, during which he researched how the foraging ecology of Atlantic Puffins (Fratercula arctica) in the Gulf of Maine is impacted by marine heatwaves. He fell in love with Oregon’s seabirds during his graduate work and, since completing his degree in 2023, has shifted his focus to the incredible seabirds of the Pacific Northwest. He now works on diverse research projects, including monitoring seabirds at Yaquina Head, performing at-sea surveys for Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus), and serving as lead contact for the “Birds with Fish” community science initiative.

125 Years of Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count
Cooper Farr, National Audubon Society
Wednesday, November 5, 6-7:30 p.m.

Beginning in 1900, Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is the nation’s longest-running community science bird project. This hemispheric initiative brings together thousands of volunteers each December and January to count birds, providing crucial data for scientific research and conservation efforts. Over its 125-year history, the CBC has been instrumental in advancing our understanding of bird population trends. This project has tracked conservation success stories, identified alarming population declines, and contributed to our understanding of how birds are impacted by climate change. In this presentation, we’ll explore the significance of this ongoing community science effort and discuss how individuals can participate in this vital work that helps protect bird species for future generations.

 Cooper Farr is the Community Science Manager for the National Audubon Society, where she supports, promotes, and innovates Audubon’s current and future Community Science programs, including Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count, Climate Watch, and the Great Backyard Bird Count. Cooper’s background is in avian ecology and applied conservation science, and she has over ten years of experience in developing and implementing community science programs.

Giving Back to Birds by Contributing Observations to eBird
Dr. Douglas Robinson, Oregon State University
Wednesday, December 3, 6-7:30 p.m.

eBird is an online community science project managed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society for birders to record and share their bird sightings. The project acts as a global database of bird observations, used by both amateur birders and professional scientists to track bird populations and distribution. Originally focused on the Western Hemisphere, eBird has expanded to include the entire world, making it a truly global database.  Birders use eBird to create personal checklists and note time and location of sightings, and scientists aggregate, analyze, and visualize these same data through maps, charts, and other tools, helping them track bird populations, migration patterns, and more. Thus, the data collected by eBird are used by scientists, researchers, and conservation organizations to understand and protect bird populations. Learn how this free and accessible program makes it easy for anyone to participate and contribute to bird conservation. 

W. Douglas Robinson is Professor of Wildlife Science and Curator of Birds at Oregon State University. He is Chief Editor of the academic journal Frontiers in Bird Science. Doug states that birds are his  expertise, vocation, and avocation. He studies wild birds to understand how and why they respond to environmental change, as well as why they live their lives in the ways they do. Doug is committed to establishing benchmarks of biodiversity to help future generations truly understand how bird populations change through time. To that end, he is one the world’s top contributors to the citizen science database, eBird.