Spot On

As if watching and photographing birds weren't cool enough, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is giving prizes for doing those things.

I recently blogged about the upcoming season of Project FeederWatch, a citizen-science effort run by the lab. A connected contest is BirdSpotter. Now through February 12, BirdSpotter participants can upload a photo that meets the weekly theme. Each entry is eligible to win gifts from the lab and Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods. The grand prize is a trip to Oregon. For more information, click here.

All that's left is to get the camera and find a good spot.

Still Watching

It's time to find some winter projects; it's time to find some birds.

Project FeederWatch is gearing up for a new season with a new Web site. I've already blogged about the project here and here. This great bit of citizen science from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology allows people to provide important data on birds while enjoying the sight of feathered friends during winter.

The new Web site lets participants upload bird photographs directly instead of submitting e-mails. It also helps people discover what birds are most prevalent in their region and provides tools to aid in identifying species. To check out the site and learn more about the project, click here.

Many birds leave for the winter, but with a feeder in the backyard, there's always something to see. Add to ornithological data as you watch.

Watch Out

Get ready. This year's Project FeederWatch, which the Cornell Lab of Ornithology uses to collect information on bird populations, begins November 12.

Project FeederWatch is just one of the citizen science opportunities provided by organizations like the Cornell Lab. It's a great way to do some bird-watching, contribute to science, and engage with nature during the winter. It can also get children started with observations of the natural world.

Let Your Perspective Count

As members of the environmental community known as Earth, we all have a lot to add to the general understanding of it.

Some people work in nature all the time, and the rest of us often wonder how we can increase our interactions with it. If you fall into either of those two categories (and let's face, rhetorically, I didn't leave much chance that you wouldn't), the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has some great opportunities for you.

Citizen Science features a number of projects, including bird counting and bird identification, that let you contribute to science. Remember how much fun we had playing scientists and investigating our world when we were growing up? These projects let have that experience once again, and now, the findings are for keeps.

One of the projects created by the lab is called Project FeederWatch. This involves setting up a feeder during the winter months, counting the types and number of birds that visit, and sharing your information with the scientists at the lab. Those who are educators can turn this into learning opportunities for their students. Along with counting and identifying the birds, students can study writing through journal keeping, physics through bird's flight patterns, history, art inspired by birds, and music influenced by bird songs.

We all have a lot we can bring to science's exploration of our world. If you would like to get more involved with this learning process, check out the links above.