One Saturday morning in June, Amy Simmons spotted some sparrows flitting around a coastal marsh in Maine. She and her two companions, all avid bird-watchers, quickly identified one of the foraging birds as a Nelson’s sparrow, a small, round bird with a yellow stripe over its eye. Then, above them, they noticed something slightly different. The stripe over this sparrow’s eye had a more vivid, orange hue, and its breast was adorned with black and white speckles.
It was a saltmarsh sparrow, a species under threat from rising sea levels. Without decisive conservation measures, climate change could lead to the species becoming extinct by the mid-21st century, according to some scientists’ predictions.
“It’s a magnificent bird,” said Ms. Simmons, who works in fundraising at the National Audubon Society. “It’s thrilling to see it. But at the same time, it breaks your heart because it is so vulnerable right now.”
Ms. Simmons took some photos and recorded the sighting on eBird, a website and app that enables scientists at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to gather observations from bird-watchers across the globe. The data has already proven valuable in monitoring bird populations, many of which are rapidly declining, and tracking how their behaviors and habitats are shifting due to climate change.
However, there are gaps in the data; eBird generally receives fewer submissions in the summer compared to the spring and fall migration seasons, and much of the data comes from popular bird-watching spots such as parks and nature reserves. Therefore, this summer, The New York Times collaborated with the lab on a citizen science project, inviting readers to incorporate birding into their daily routines and share their observations with researchers. Participants were encouraged to continue birding throughout the slower season and explore beyond their usual bird-watching spots.
A video summarizing the project will be showcased during The New York Times Climate Forward event on Thursday, where leaders in business, science, and public policy will discuss climate change and efforts to address it.
“People embraced the call to action,” said Jenna Curtis, a project leader for eBird at the Cornell lab.
Approximately 25,000 people, including Ms. Simmons, signed up to participate, with 46% stating that they were new to birding. While it is unclear how many followed through, over 2,000 people submitted eBird checklists using the designated #NYT hashtag. Together, these eBird users submitted over 95,000 checklists between mid-May and the end of August. Readers also submitted bird illustrations and reported joining others for bird-watching outings.
Data provided by Cornell — along with interviews with participants — also indicates that the project motivated existing eBird users to remain engaged during the slower summer season and submit data from a wider range of locations.
Karla Simpson, a relatively new birder in Indiana, revealed that the project expanded her understanding of where she could find interesting birds. While attending her niece’s wedding in Michigan, she recorded 20 species — including wood ducks, northern flickers, and red-bellied woodpeckers — at a pond behind her hotel, a Fairfield Inn & Suites in a bustling business district. “As long as there was suitable habitat, there were birds,” she said.
Ms. Simmons was not alone in spotting a saltmarsh sparrow; over 100 people who used the #NYT hashtag reported sightings, providing additional data that experts might be able to utilize for targeted conservation efforts, according to Dr. Curtis. “It’s incredibly valuable information,” she said. “They’re observing a bird on the brink of extinction, which their children or grandchildren might not get to see if we don’t take action.”
Many participants also reported observing birds outside their typical ranges — a red-bellied woodpecker outside Montreal, a Carolina wren in Vermont — indicating that species are moving north due to a warming climate. In Prospect Park, Brooklyn, Emily Clark spotted an anhinga, a long-necked water bird often found in Florida. “It’s fascinating to see an anhinga in New York,” Ms. Clark said. “But it’s not necessarily a positive development, especially if they’re being forced to migrate here.”
Climate change, and the extreme weather it brings, can also make bird-watching challenging. Participants in this summer’s project had to contend with scorching heat and abnormal plumes of wildfire smoke.
Despite the sometimes unfavorable weather conditions, Ms. Clark stated that the project motivated her to rediscover her passion for birding after giving birth earlier this year. She hopes to share her love of birds with her newborn son. Bird-watching, she said, has brought her closer to her father, a lifelong birder who named her Wren. Ms. Clark passed on the name to her baby, and when her father visited to meet his grandson, they bonded over the sighting of the unusual tropical bird in Brooklyn.
“On his first trip down to meet his new grandson,” Ms. Clark recalled, “he spent a few hours with the baby and then asked, ‘Is it okay if we make a quick trip to Prospect Park to see the anhinga?'”
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