The 119th Christmas Bird Count is conducted between Friday, December 14th and Saturday, January 5, 2019. I will probably head out into the cold this year. Hang with birders, drink hot chocolate, and thank myself numerous times for remembering to buy hand and foot warmers this year. Learn about this fun citizen science activity on […]
citizen science
Get Involved in the Christmas Bird Count
The 115th Christmas Bird Count runs from Sunday, December 14, 2104 through Monday, January 5, 2015. Check your local environmental centers for a count near you. Get Involved in the Christmas Bird Count – Find a Count Near you | National Audubon Society Birds.
Grinnell Method for Nature Journals
The Grinnell Method has helped me become a better naturalist. I’ve been keeping a naturalist’s journal for a long time. But a year or so ago, I felt my journal writing had stagnated and needed a boost. I went searching for a way to make my nature journal more thorough. What I found was this method. The […]
The Nature Journal – What is It? How Do I Start?
Nature journaling is recording the natural happenings you see every day. Whether you write, draw, take photographs or press flowers, the result is the same, you end up creating a book that you love. You might like to take a look at my notebooks, I’ve been keeping since 1990. You don’t have to travel far […]
What is a Naturalist?
Becoming a naturalist can be a journey that lasts a lifetime. I’ve always admired people who could tell you what kind of bird was flying overhead, just by the silhouette. Or how the insects on the yellow flower over there spend their life cycle in a few short weeks. I have been striving toward being […]
Citizen Science and Nature Journal Keeping
Citizen Science and Nature Journal Keeping are a Natural Partnership Citizen Science Projects cover a range of nature activities and nature journal interests. Here are examples of the citizen science projects that further scientific understanding of the natural world. Scientists at organizations, research facilities, and government agencies use the data collected by amateur observers to help […]
Feederwatch begins November 1
The annual citizen science project of counting birds for science starts November 1. Posting starts November 9th. Just when land quiets. When so many birds have flown to warmer and buggier parts further south, watching winter birds begins. I set my bird feeders up in my backyard this past weekend. I want the birds to […]
Happy Earth Day! The birds are beginning to nest.
What better way to celebrate Earth Day than by focusing on new life. The local residents birds have begun to nest. They are setting up nests in the prime locations before most of the migrants arrive. Nests are by design most times hard to find. You have to watch bird behavior as to clues of […]
Cicada Tracker on SciStarter
The 17-year Cicada are due to emerge between mid April and June from Connecticut to Georgia. The big insects emerge when the ground is sixty-four degrees Fahrenheit. SciStarter has instructions on building a thermometer and how to track the emergence. Build Your Own Cicada Tracker on SciStarter. You can track them and report your findings […]
Great backyard Bird Count – Starts this Friday
GBBC News Release – Feb 2012 — Great Backyard Bird Count. The Great Backyard Bird Count is February 17th – 20th, 2012. Perhaps, your local environmental center or park is sponsoring a count.