The ruby-throated hummingbird lay motionless in the open palm of Grace Tuffiash’s hand for five seconds, maybe 10, before flitting away as the 4-year-old gasped.
Nine-year-old James Hausman was just as excited when he ran from his backyard to announce the capture of a tufted titmouse in a gauzy, almost invisible mist net, and then again when he released the bird, sending it on its way with the one-word exclamation, “Awesome.”
Those bird-in-the-hand moments were among many on a recent morning in Jefferson Hills as National Aviary ornithologist Bob Mulvihill and intern Becca Ralston caught, measured, banded and released birds in the yard of Jim and Maria Hausman for the Neighborhood Nestwatch program.
The program marries citizen science with the opportunity for real, hands-on engagement in the near, natural world. The data it produces helps researchers figure out how birds adapt in urban, suburban and rural landscapes, and identify environments where birds thrive.
“This is designed to be a long-term study of the effects of urbanization on target bird species,” said Mr. Mulvihill. “But a big part of the project, and at least as important, is developing the interests of children and adults in the natural world, while making them aware of how the choices they make in urban and suburban habitats can be detrimental or supportive of bird populations.”
Ornithologist Peter Marra, director of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, came up with the idea for Neighborhood Nestwatch in 2000, shortly after he moved to Washington, D.C., to take that job.
“I’d always wanted to get as far away from people as I could, to do my research in the mountains or the Amazon,” Mr. Marra said. “But when I came here I realized that the real front line of conservation is where people are. Urbanization is the major land use change on the planet. That interface, the nexis where humans and wildlife meet, is important to understand, and birds present a wonderful opportunity to study that.”
The program collects data about a number of common migratory and non-migratory bird species but focuses on eight — song sparrows, Carolina wrens, northern cardinals, house wrens, gray catbirds, American robins, northern mockingbirds and black-capped chickadees — because they are fairly common, widely distributed, and tolerate people checking their nests. The program’s scientists assess bird health, and banders attach colored bands to the birds’ legs to help in identification and tracking.
That first spring in Washington, 50 people turned over their backyards for a morning to Nestwatch. This year it’s in about 250 backyards in the nation’s capitol, and could be in 1,000 if there were money to operate on that scale, Mr. Marra said.
It’s proved a popular research and educational tool.
Mr. Marra said Nestwatch research has aided understanding of the West Nile Virus, how habitat changes influence the survival of bird species, how elevated lead levels affect birds, and in identifying threats to birds in the urban environment.
“The data the program has collected about birds’ survival and reproductive success is as good as what we see from scientists,” Mr. Marra said. “Plus it gets people outside in their yards, in the nature right under their noses. It allows them to develop a greater sense of place and inspires them to install native plants, water features and restored habitats.”
In Pittsburgh, the Nestwatch program recruited three dozen National Aviary members the first year, a number that’s grown each year and now stands at 175 sites.
The Hausmans were among the original program participants four years ago and continue to be enthusiastic supporters, inviting friends, family and neighbors to join them for the morning bird capture and banding.
Mr. Hausman, an English teacher in the South Fayette School District, said he started watching birds after meeting Mr. Mulvihill at a birding talk the ornithologist gave at the Pleasant Hills Arboretum four years ago, about the same time he agreed to join Nestwatch.
“He was putting names to things and it all began to make sense,” he said. “When you can take nature and begin to identify and understand things, it becomes a very powerful experience.”
According to Mr. Housman’s records, the first year in Nestwatch captured 11 birds and seven different species. The second year 19 birds were caught and 12 different species. The third year, 11 birds and nine species. This year they logged 30 birds and 11 species, including his first Nestwatch mockingbird and the ruby-throated hummingbird.
“Learning more about these birds has caused me to be more observant, to pay more attention to the habitat and my surroundings,” Mr.. Hausman said. “There’s a great sense of discovery, of curiosity. It’s something more people should do.”
Mr. Mulvihill said survey findings show that people who show an increased interest in birds and birding are more likely to make changes that improve backyard habitat for birds, including keeping cats indoors, preventing window strikes and planting native species.
“We hope the data collection works out,” Mr. Mulvihill said, “but we already know this has been a success in terms of engagement.”
More information about the National Aviary’s Neighborhood Nestwatch program is available at https://www.aviary.org/neighborhoodnestwatch. Those interested in participating next year may contact Mr. Mulvihill at Robert.mulvihill@aviary.org, and should include their street address and other contact info by next spring, Nestwatch’s fifth season will begin in mid-May. He said program participants must live within 50 miles of Point State Park (as the crow flies, of course).
Don Hopey: dhopey@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1983, or on Twitter @donhopey
First Published: August 7, 2016, 4:00 a.m.