I'm pleased to announce the on-line logging forms for Ruby-throated
Hummingbird observations are finally live on the EarthTrek project's
Web site! See http://goearthtrek.com/
EarthTrek is a new citizen science initiative open to anyone
interested in collecting and submitting data about various phenomena.
(So far there are three projects.) Since many of you are already
keeping notes about RTHU, I encourage you to register with EarthTrek
and become part of this exciting venture. It's FREE and your data can
help us better understand hummer migration and breeding biology.
This work is not intended to replace Lanny Chambers' long-time
Web-based efforts but to supplement them, so in future years please
continue to submit spring data to him. It also opens the
teacher-student hummer protocols I designed for The GLOBE Program to
a much wider audience.
If you live in southern Canada or the 38 eastern U.S. states (or DC)
you can submit data about 2009 first sightings of male & female RTHU
as well as your observations about any RTHU nests you may have found
this season. Because of some unanticipated glitches it took EarthTrek
longer than expected to get the forms up and running; it would have
been nice to have had them available during spring migration, but
better now than never! :-)
This fall you'll also be able to report LAST sightings of 2009 for
RTHU, based on age and sex (as described in the on-line protocols).
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have good migration and/or nesting records
from PREVIOUS years, you can submit them at this time using the same
forms.
Anyone in Mexico and Central America can also participate by
submitting info about fall arrival and spring departure dates for
RTHU in the Neotropics.
Please forward this e-mail to anyone you know who'd like to participate.
Happy Hummingbird Watching,
Bill Hilton Jr., Principal Investigator
"Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project"
York, South Carolina USA
--
RESEARCH PROGRAM
c/o BILL HILTON JR. Executive Director
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History
1432 DeVinney Road, York, South Carolina 29745 USA
[email protected], (803) 684-5852, eFax: (503) 218-0845
Please visit our web sites (courtesy of Comporium.net):
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History at http://www.hiltonpond.org
"Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project" at http://www.rubythroat.org
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