TexBirds, Tex Odes, and Citizen Scientists

I have recently joined the listserve Texbirds. While it definitely fills my mailbox, I find the information useful. I have followed up on a few things from the information. I went over to see a Mississippi Kite which had been sighted in the Round Rock area. While I did not get over there while they were nesting, I did get to see one. I've already mentioned the Hornsby Bend event I attended. I met Roxy, a member of the Travis Count Audubon Society there. She encouraged me to attend some classes sponsored by the Society. When I saw the dragonfly class I was hooked.

But another interesting element of the Texbird listserve is to realize t he research done by "citizen scientists." I've forgotten exactly where I saw that termnology, but it is an amazing concept. So much of scientific research involves tedious cataloging and observation hours out in the field. Many of today's scientists are professors with limited budgets and resources. But there are a lot of folks out there who are interested in the natural world, people who spend a lot of time learning about birds, insects, flowers, mammals, etc. Texbirds is one place where these people can record what species of bird was seen, at what location, at what date, at what time of day, etc. There are numerous bird counts going on right now due to the fall migration. Dedicated volunteers are manning sites and doing daily bird counts. And there are scientists who are using some of this information to further our knowledge of migration patterns, changing ranges of certain species, population studies, etc.

While my primary tasks over the last 25 years involved raising my children (yes, I did more than just that - I need to post my resume some day) , I've always been interested in science. My degree from the University of Texas is a Bachelor of Science. When my children were young, and I was involved with Girl Scouting and Boy Scouting, I always encouraged the children in my groups to explore and learn about the outdoors. On our family vacations we took the identification books and made our own lists of species we saw on different trips (BTW we computerized some of them - I bet we still have them!). Now as a nature photographer, I am hoping to share my love of the outdoor world with people who may not have the opportunity to spend as much time outside as I do.

Dr. Abbott who taught the dragonfly class is also using these "citizen scientists" to learn more about which dragonflies and damselflies are located where. I like this concept - ordinary but trained people out enjoying the natural world but also being active participants in furthering scientific knowledge. Hold that thought . . . . there will be more to come . . . .