Bird Cams Lab
Get Involved With This Project
Welcome to the Bird Cams Lab, a project from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology now in development with support from the National Science Foundation. The goal of the project is to join viewers from around the world to make new discoveries using live streaming and archived cam footage focused on wild bird nests and feeders. We’re designing an online space where viewers and scientists can investigate questions together across the entire scientific process: Observing birds on the cams; asking, discussing, and choosing research questions; collecting data by tagging videos; analyzing and interpreting results; and sharing the findings online.
For American Spring LIVE, we invite you to help us test two activities:
1. Observing feeder birds and their behaviors on our Cornell Lab FeederWatch cam and generating ideas and questions for possible scientific investigations as a group and/or online via Twitter in a virtual “Wonder” space.
2. Participating in a Battling Birds activity by watching archived video clips from the FeederWatch cam and collecting data to understand how birds interact at feeders. Or take part in a new activity called Hawk Talk by watching and documenting red-tailed hawk behavior and vocalizations.
Whether you already enjoy watching wildlife cams or are watching for the first time, we invite you to join in to help make new discoveries!
Researcher Bios
Charles Eldermire
Charles has directed the Cornell Lab’s Bird Cams since 2012. He has a master’s degree in Biology from the University of Montana and has experience in field biology, educational outreach, and live streaming technology.
Ben Walters
Ben is the Communications Specialist for the Bird Cams. He has a master’s degree in Biology from Western University. In addition to providing support for the Bird Cams community, he enjoys hiking with his dog, reading, and trying new foods.
Rachael Mady
Rachael is the Bird Cams Research Assistant and a master’s degree student in the Department of Natural Resources at Cornell University. She is the primary scientific contact for the Bird Cams Lab participants. When she isn't online, she is outside conducting her field research project on the feeding behavior of common feeder birds.
Miyoko Chu
Miyoko is the senior director of Communications at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and the principal investigator for the Bird Cams Lab project. Trained as a science communicator and Ph.D. ornithologist, she is excited to work with online communities to reveal new insights about the lives of birds.
David Bonter
David is the Director of Citizen Science at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and a senior lecturer at Cornell University. With a Ph.D. in natural resources, David specializes in avian ecology and engaging the public in scientific research.
Tina Phillips
Tina is the Assistant Director of Citizen Science at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology where she used social science research to study the ways in which people participate in and benefit from citizen science. Tina holds a Ph.D. in Education from Cornell University.
Project URLs
Watch and Observe Bird Behavior on the Cornell Lab FeederWatch Cam:
http://bit.ly/CornellFeedersASL- Start Collecting data in our Battling Birds Activity hosted by Zooniverse
http://bit.ly/BattlingBirdsASL - Join our newest data collection project on Zooniverse called “Hawk Talk”
http://bit.ly/HawkTalkASL - Share Your Thoughts and Questions on Twitter using #IWonderLIVE
http://bit.ly/2VBX3qI - Learn how to participate in more than data collection by becoming part of Bird Cams Lab!
http://bit.ly/birdcamlab
