Citizen Science

From backyards to remote mountain summits, anyone can contribute to VINS research when they become a citizen scientist. Data from the projects described below are used to monitor wildlife populations and forge conservation efforts. It's easy and fun...join us!

What is Citizen Science?
VINS scientists partner with volunteers to help answer research questions that require an army of observers. Volunteers, often people with little or no formal scientific training, are given the opportunity to learn about wildlife and pressing conservation issues, while scientists are able to answer questions over vast geographic and time scales.

Who are Citizen Scientists?
In 2006, over 1,000 volunteers contributed time and information as VINS citizen scientists. These volunteers hailed from nearly 160 Vermont towns (see map) and 13 states.

To become a citizen scientist, choose a project below that best suits your schedule, interests, and experience. There's something for everyone - from the novice observer eager to learn, to the expert naturalist seeking new challenges.

Projects

Mountain Birdwatch is a long-term monitoring program for Bicknell's Thrush and other mountain-dwelling songbirds. From the Catskills to Mount Katahdin, trained volunteers conduct dawn surveys along foot trails that pass through the region's most awe-inspiring forests. Participants experience the thrill of alpine adventure and help guide the stewardship of vulnerable mountain habitat. Contact info@vinsweb.org

The Vermont Millennium Atlas Project integrates three wildlife atlas projects in an effort to document the status of Vermont wildlife at the dawn of the millennium. The Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas, the Vermont Butterfly Survey, and the Vermont Amphibian and Reptile Atlas all foster public appreciation for wildlife and enable land stewards to make informed conservation decisions.

Each year birder watchers carefully record notes on which species they saw, where, and in what numbers. Vermont eBird and Hispaniola eBird enables birders to submit sightings from anywhere at anytime over the internet.

Forest Bird Monitoring Program initiated in 1989,tracks long-term changes in populations of interior forest songbirds. Sites have been established at more than 30 mature forest tracts representing 9 different forest communities throughout Vermont. During the height of breeding activities in June, each site is visited twice by a volunteer or a VINS staff biologist skilled in visual and aural bird identification. Contact info@vinsweb.org

Vermont Loon Recovery Project has been working with citizens, hydro dam operators, lake associations, state agencies, and other conservation groups to secure the future of Vermont loons since 1979. Its strategic integration of monitoring, management, and public education has spurred solid gains in the number of breeding pairs and chicks that fledge. The VLRP is a joint program of VINS and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. Contact Eric Hanson at ehanson@vtlink.net

Peregrine Falcon Recovery Project Vermont's breeding population of Peregrine Falcons continues to reach new milestones on its long road to recovery. The VINS and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department have closely monitored this species' recovery since Mount Pisgah's reoccupancy, and the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) joined the project in 1998. Together with a corps of volunteers, the Vermont Peregrine population is monitored annually. Contact info@vinsweb.org

Vermont Nest Records Program Each year many birders and scientists observe hundreds of nests in Vermont. Now you can contribute your observations of nests to this unique database that will enable us to examine nest success, cowbird parasitism rates, nest habitat types, physiographic locations, and many other questions on a large geographical scale. Contact info@vinsweb.org

Vermont Bird Records Committee This committee is composed of expert birders and ornithologists from Vermont as well as the four seasonal New England editors of North American Birds. The primary purpose is to validate records of birds from the state of Vermont and maintain the Vermont state checklist. The committee actively solicits reports of any rare or unusual species that you observe. Contact info@vinsweb.org

Results of Past Projects:

Conte Refuge Migrant Bird Stopover Habitat Survey
Habitat loss for migrant birds is not only a problem on the wintering and breeding grounds, but also during migration. While ornithologists have long recognized the importance of the Connecticut River watershed to migrating birds, little was know about the actual locations or types of stopover habitats used. The Stopover Habitat Survey allowed Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge managers to identify what species are migrating through the Connecticut River watershed, the geographic areas being used for stopover visits, and the habitat characteristics of those areas. VINS Conservation Biology Department and a team of volunteers collected vital data in Vermont from 1996 - 1998 for this project.

Vermont BioBlitz A BioBlitz is a 24-hour race against time to identify every living thing at a selected park or some other property. But it's also much more than that. BioBlitzes are a blend of science, education, and celebration.