About our project

Welcome to our Citizen Science project geared towards measuring song variation in white-throated sparrows. We’ve been studying changes in song structure since 2002 and have found several interesting patterns. Now, we’re trying to measure how these patterns change over time and space.

How can you help?

Recording sparrows over a broad geographical area is extremely time consuming and expensive. We’re hoping to recruit participants to help us collect recordings of male white-throated sparrows. Volunteers can be from anywhere within the breeding range of the species, but we are especially interested in recordings from Saskatchewan eastward to the Atlantic provinces, and across the northern tier of states in the US from Wisconsin to Maine.

We’re hoping that each participant can record 10 songs per male and 10 males per year.

Get Involved!

What do you get out of this?

So why should you help us? Plenty of reasons!

Learning

1. Learning about the scientific process
   • This is a great opportunity to get involved in science and learn about the scientific process
   • We’ll be sharing our results and keeping you up to date on what’s been done and what we’re doing
2. Learning about the biology and behaviour of white-throated sparrows
   • By being out in the field and making recordings you’ll learn a lot simply through observation
   • As we analyze the recordings, you’ll be part of the process that contributes to our knowledge on white-throated sparrows
3. Learning how to make recordings of bird songs
   • There’s nothing like hands-on experience to learn a skill!

Helping

• We can’t do this study without citizen scientists!
• You’ll be collecting real data that can inform our research and help explain the natural world around us
• You’ll have the knowledge (and the warm fuzzies) that you’ve made real science happen
• You’ll have our undying gratitude (we mean it!)

Bonuses

• Although it’s still early days, we’d like to reward participants with virtual badges and acknowledgements
• We may also be able to stretch this to physical rewards such as sticker badges to show off to your friends that you participated in Citizen Science!

Get Involved!

           

Photo Credits

• White-throated sparrow from Wikimedia Commons by Simon Pierre Barrette