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For love of birds: Backyard sleuths boost scientists’ work

A red-shouldered hawk flies up from a lawn, Monday, May 17, 2021, in Columbia, Md. The pandemic that put much of normal life on pause — stopping travel and shutting people in their homes — also afforded more time for many families to study the wildlife in their own backyards. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Four blue robin eggs are seen in the morning light, Thursday, May 6, 2021, in Silver Springs, Md. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Avian ecologist and Georgetown University Ph.D. student Emily Williams examines a robin's feet and claws, Wednesday, April 28, 2021, in Cheverly, Md. This spring and summer, her research project tracking the annual migration of American robins has gotten a boost from the enthusiasm of homeowners in the greater Washington area, who’ve let her and a research assistant set up makeshift research stations in their backyards before dawn — and sometimes contributed their own notes and observations. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) A wren rests on a hand as it is held by the feet, Wednesday, April 28, 2021, in Cheverly, Md. Cornell University records show a boom in amateur bird-watching. The number of people submitting eBird checklists — recording their bird sightings — was up 37% in 2020 compared with the previous year. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Avian ecologist and Georgetown University Ph.D. student Emily Williams holds a robin to examine its wings, Wednesday, April 28, 2021, in Cheverly, Md. “Realizing that this tiny animal that can fit in the palm of your hand can travel thousands and thousands of miles one way in spring, and then does it again later in the year, was just amazing to me,” she said. “I have always been dazzled by migration.” (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)