Citizen Science in Brookings: One family’s story

Citizen science means non-scientist volunteers making observations and measurements of natural resources in their yard and garden, or in a nearby field, forest, lake or stream. The data are sent to real scientists to help with their research into the natural world.

My wife, Mary Lou, and I have been citizen scientists for 20 years. We like simple citsci projects, and we only give our $0.02 about projects from our own experience, like our participation in the recently completed Great Back Yard Bird Count, sponsored by the Audubon Society. But first, some notes about citsci.

The “granddad” of all citsci projects is the Christmas Bird Count, now 125-years-old. Other examples are the tag return projects that hunters and anglers have been doing for a century, although they didn’t call themselves citizen scientists, until recently when the term became trendy. The information from tag returns has helped wildlife and fisheries biologists understand animal migratory patterns so that they can manage wildlife populations from a scientific basis.

Being a citizen scientist might sound a bit “nerdy” or “specialized” but interest in this pastime is exploding, first because of the personal benefits – it’s fun and educational, and secondly, because this novel approach to science is really helping gather information that improves our knowledge about natural resources and environment.

Outdoors enthusiasts often quote an early naturalist and writer named Aldo Leopold. He is best known for his Sand County Almanac, which is about nature on his Wisconsin farm. Leopold said: “Keeping records enhances the pleasure of the search and the chance of finding order and meaning in these events.”

Participating in a citsci project is a chance for families to enjoy the outdoors and get to know and appreciate Nature. Modern lifestyles have distanced us from Nature on which we depend for survival, economics and well-being. We conserve what we love, we love what we understand, and we understand what we are taught. A citsci project is a “teaching moment,” and an opportunity to discover the wonder of The Creation.

Data from citsci projects are finding their way into the scientific literature.

Some 300 peer-reviewed scientific publications have come from Christmas Bird Count data. Real scientists trust the data because it is collected according to standardized methods. This is another “teaching moment.” Citsci volunteers learn about “the scientific method,” and the importance of following procedures, and they experience firsthand the demand for honesty needed in science.

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We like the cliché “One GOOD measurement is worth a hundred opinions.” Volunteer citizen scientists are doing studies that are beyond the scope and cost of ordinary research projects. Could an ornithologist (bird scientist) make thousands of observations in one day across all of North America? No! But the 200,000 volunteers in the Great Back Yard Bird count did!

The Great Back Yard Bird Count (GBBC) is an annual worldwide event in February. The goal is to determine winter residency before spring migration. For 4 days, volunteers record the kinds and numbers of birds that they see at their bird feeder, or in the neighborhood.

You only have to watch for 15 minutes, but we guarantee you will put in more time. On February 13, Mary Lou filled the bird feeders with seeds and suet in preparation for the first day. We had our binoculars, bird books, and note pads handy.

What is cool about this project is that you can see your own data within minutes on the GBBC website. You can see who is also watching, and where they are counting birds. The GBBC website will also publish your bird photos, or even photos of you watching birds.

Some think “I can’t identify birds.” Well, “there’s an APP for that.” The app is a “gee whiz” site called Merlin – free from Audubon. A Merlin is a bird of prey which is fast and efficient, just like the website.

Merlin will identify your bird photo, and (get this) it can also identify the bird by its song! The sonic recordings of bird song have patterns that can be analyzed by a computer with great, great accuracy. All this computer power is stuffed into Merlin and goes with you on your phone.

Merlin was really helpful to us this year. Recall that our February weather was unusually warm, so we walked our Lake Campbell road to find birds. We didn’t see many birds or hear any at all, but Merlin heard them! Because of this alert, we looked harder. Merlin said that there were Ceder Waxwings about. We had been seeing unidentifiable “little brown birds” high up in the tree tops – but what were they? Using our binoculars and Merlin, we found them, and added Ceder Waxwings to our list. We thought they were rare, but now we know what to look for.

At our GBBC feeders, we saw 10 species the first morning. I get flummoxed with some computer chores, but it is very easy to add observations to the GBBC website. On the website, I saw other GBBC participants in Brookings County.

They were reporting from the SDSU campus, from the Aurora Prairie, and from Dakota Nature Park.

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One of the real values of the GBBC website is that is incredibly easy to search the results. You can see data from the world, from the USA, from South Dakota, and from Brookings County. Brookings County had 11 citizen scientists who recorded 21 species of birds. Brookings County was ranked 6th in participation among the 66 South Dakota Counties. In South Dakota, 106 species were observed by several hundred participants.

It doesn’t take a PhD to be a citizen scientist – just curiosity. For more information, watch citsci in action on the PBS series titled Nature: American Spring LIVE. We have participated in some of the featured projects on PBS — but we didn’t rate any TV time. Citsci has its own month — April of course, a time of emergence, migration, nesting, and rebirth. A website called Scistarter is the go-to place to learn more.

For beginners, we recommend a citsci project called JourneyNorth. It is the easiest to do with the most reward. For JourneyNorth, you report the date that you saw the first robin, Monarch butterfly, Hummingbird, flower, or one of a dozen other species. It is easy to enter your observation and a photo, and you are immediately added to a map that shows pattern nationwide.

Journey North requires little time or knowledge, but we predict you’ll stay a while because of the interesting information, maps, and photos it offers. We got a little wordy when we joyfully reported our first Robins with this note: “Robins flying from tree to tree along the East shore of Lake Campbell.

Snow Geese showed up on the same day, clear, 45 F, calm, first day with such good weather this spring.”

There are hundreds of citsci projects for you to try from watching starlings to stars. SciStarter lists 700+ citsci projects. You’ll find connections to your hunting, fishing, gardening, and bird watching hobbies.

By participating in a citsci project, you will increase your understanding of the scientific process, help with nationwide conservation research, and get a fresh comprehension of the wonders of nature and our stewardship responsibilities.