• Join us in creating a unique network of thousands of instrumented nest boxes to collect life history data across diverse habitats.

  • Our nest boxes have a modern design and contain a purpose built electronic monitoring system and high res video camera.

  • Boxes can be located anywhere – so why not replace your old one? No trailing cables, mains power or internet connection needed.

  • A single battery pack will last the
    whole season: just set up, switch on
    and let nature take its course.

  • Never miss a thing: receive alerts to tell
    you when eggs will hatch or when the chicks
    are about to fledge.

  • Join us in creating a unique network of thousands of instrumented nest boxes to collect life history data across diverse habitats.

  • Our nest boxes have a modern design and contain a purpose built electronic monitoring system and high res video camera.

  • Boxes can be located anywhere – so why not replace your old one? No trailing cables, mains power or internet connection needed.

  • A single battery pack will last the whole season: just set up, switch on and let nature take its course.

  • Never miss a thing: receive alerts to tell you when eggs will hatch or when the chicks are about to fledge.

  • Join us in creating a unique network of thousands of instrumented nest boxes to collect life history data across diverse habitats.

  • Our nest boxes have a modern design and contain a purpose built electronic monitoring system and high res video camera.

  • Boxes can be located anywhere – so why not replace your old one? No trailing cables, mains power or internet connection needed.

  • A single battery pack will last the whole season: just set up, switch on and let nature take its course.

  • Never miss a thing: receive alerts to tell you when eggs will hatch or when the chicks are about to fledge.

  • Join us in creating a unique network of thousands of instrumented nest boxes to collect life history data across diverse habitats.

  • Our nest boxes have a modern design and contain a purpose built electronic monitoring system and high res video camera.

  • Boxes can be located anywhere – so why not replace your old one? No trailing cables, mains power or internet connection needed.

  • A single battery pack will last the whole season: just set up, switch on and let nature take its course.

  • Never miss a thing: receive alerts to tell you when eggs will hatch or when the chicks are about to fledge.

When we have a product, be the first to know!

WE’D LOVE TO KEEP YOU UP TO DATE WITH OUR ACTIVITIES AND LET YOU KNOW WHEN
WE HAVE A PRODUCT AVAILABLE TO BUY.

PROVIDE YOUR EMAIL HERE – OF COURSE, WE PROMISE NOT TO SHARE YOUR DETAILS
WITH THIRD PARTIES.

    video & graphing


    Breeding Great Tits (Parus major), Spring 2017 at Radley, South Oxfordshire. Simultaneous graphing of the output weight data. The graph shows changes in weight of the nest over the last 40 minutes, as the male and female enter and exit. Note that the male is about 2g heavier than the female, making it easy to tell which sex is on the nest at any one time. There are seven chicks in the nest.

    What are we building at Citizen Bird?

    The Box

    Citizen Bird’s unique nest box records data on the weight of the nest and its contents, as well as having a high resolution IR camera for viewing. Weight is information rich but low power to collect, making it ideal for distributed environmental monitoring. Boxes run a whole season on four ‘D’ batteries and record information on nest building, egg laying, chick feeding, survival and fledging… even predation events! However, we build our boxes to be tough, from stout wood and to expert specification.

    The App

    We are designing an app to download to your mobile device and connect to the box. A simple set-up routine allows you to record basic information about the box location and its environment. Thereafter, the app allows you to plug into the box to view the camera. In the background, the raw weight data are downloaded and sent on the Citizen Bird for analysis. Via the app we can also share forecasts of key events like egg hatch and fledging, and updates on the science, so you need never miss a thing.

    The Science

    Algorithms will extract event data from the changes in weight that we will share freely with the research community. The British Trust for Ornithology is Citizen Bird’s primary data partner. BTO will use these data for their own environmental monitoring and research, and to share with other research groups around the world. We’d also like to run experiments that box owners can opt in to, conceived by our research partners to answer serious questions on evolution, behaviour and conservation.

    What are the experts saying?

    Prof. Chris Perrins

    LVO, FRS, University of Oxford

    “Citizen Bird is an exciting initiative that allows all of us who care about birds and the wider environment to build a unique data set that will help drive ecological research and monitoring in the years to come.”

    Prof. Chris Perrins

    LVO, FRS, University of Oxford

    As the Edward Grey Professor of Ornithology at Oxford, Chris managed the world’s longest-running wild vertebrate study: of the blue tits and great tits of Wytham woods. Chris literally wrote the book on blue tits and great tits, and nobody understands better the value of detailed life history data from these key indicator species to answer deep questions about behavioural ecology, evolution and population dynamics.

    Chris has been Her Majesty’s Warden of the Swans since 1993.

    Dr. Dave Leech

    Head of Ringing & Nest Recording Team, BTO

    “Citizen scientists play a vital role in monitoring the breeding success of the nation's birds and Citizen Bird aims to amplify their efforts. By providing more detailed information on reproductive output and recording nesting behaviour at an unprecedented scale, Citizen Bird will allow researchers to determine how birds respond and adapt to environmental pressures such as climate and land use change.”

    Dr. Dave Leech

    Head of Ringing & Nest Recording Team, BTO

    Dave is responsible for running BTO’s hugely influential Nest Record Scheme (NRS), the largest and longest-running monitoring programme of its type in the world.


    Volunteer nest recorders have been submitting data to the NRS since 1939 and currently follow the progress of over 45,000 nesting attempts each year across Britain & Ireland; their records have played a key role in determining the extent to which factors such climate change and farming practices impact bird populations.

    BTO are keen to maximise the value of these data by working with a wide variety of researchers from universities, Governments and NGOs around the world, sharing information through their data request system.

    Helen Wilson

    Principal Lecturer: Science Education

    "Following the fate of breeding birds from nest building to fledging gives children a compelling insight into the natural world. These boxes provide strong support for the National Curriculum, allowing children to study life cycles, and food chains in their local environment – and then compare with the results from boxes in different habitats. It also gives them the opportunity for some fascinating work on data handling."

    Helen Wilson

    Principal Lecturer: Science Education

    Helen is a specialist in primary science teaching and has trained a generation of primary science teachers through the Oxford Brookes Initial Teacher Training and CPD programmes. As well as consulting nationally and internationally, Helen conducts original research on effective science teaching.

    What are the experts saying?

    Viewing on mobile? Tap the card elements below to view our experts’ biographies.

    Prof. Chris Perrins

    LVO, FRS, University of Oxford

    “Citizen Bird is an exciting initiative that allows all of us who care about birds and the wider environment to build a unique data set that will help drive ecological research and monitoring in the years to come.”

    Prof. Chris Perrins

    LVO, FRS, University of Oxford

    As the Edward Grey Professor of Ornithology at Oxford, Chris managed the world’s longest-running wild vertebrate study: of the blue tits and great tits of Wytham woods. Chris literally wrote the book on blue tits and great tits, and nobody understands better the value of detailed life history data from these key indicator species to answer deep questions about behavioural ecology, evolution and population dynamics.

    Chris has been Her Majesty’s Warden of the Swans since 1993.

    Dr. Dave Leech

    Head of Ringing & Nest Recording Team, BTO

    “Citizen scientists play a vital role in monitoring the breeding success of the nation's birds and Citizen Bird aims to amplify their efforts. By providing more detailed information on reproductive output and recording nesting behaviour at an unprecedented scale, Citizen Bird will allow researchers to determine how birds respond and adapt to environmental pressures such as climate and land use change.”

    Dr. Dave Leech

    Head of Ringing & Nest Recording Team, BTO

    Dave is responsible for running BTO’s hugely influential Nest Record Scheme (NRS), the largest and longest-running monitoring programme of its type in the world.


    Volunteer nest recorders have been submitting data to the NRS since 1939 and currently follow the progress of over 45,000 nesting attempts each year across Britain & Ireland; their records have played a key role in determining the extent to which factors such climate change and farming practices impact bird populations.

    BTO are keen to maximise the value of these data by working with a wide variety of researchers from universities, Governments and NGOs around the world, sharing information through their data request system.

    Helen Wilson

    Principal Lecturer: Science Education

    "Following the fate of breeding birds from nest building to fledging gives children a compelling insight into the natural world. These boxes provide strong support for the National Curriculum, allowing children to study life cycles, and food chains in their local environment – and then compare with the results from boxes in different habitats. It also gives them the opportunity for some fascinating work on data handling."

    Helen Wilson

    Principal Lecturer: Science Education

    Helen is a specialist in primary science teaching and has trained a generation of primary science teachers through the Oxford Brookes Initial Teacher Training and CPD programmes. As well as consulting nationally and internationally, Helen conducts original research on effective science teaching.

    There are many great applications for our nest boxes. Here are just some…
    Private
    gardens

    Gardens are the backbone of the Citizen Bird network. And to power the science we need them everywhere, urban and rural, north, south, east and west. Our nest boxes are simple to install anywhere – no trailing wires. So why not replace your existing bird box and let you and your family take a compelling journey with the wild birds in your garden?

    Primary
    Education

    Citizen Bird’s original inspiration was to make environmental science education more exciting and relevant. Bring your subject to life by teaching lifecycles as the eggs are laid and hatch; teach food chains while the chicks are fed and mature. Why not appoint a daily nest box monitor to collect simple data, to practice data handling and graphing?

    Heritage Organisations

    Our boxes can enhance your visitor experience, encouraging people to come and explore your gardens and grounds early in the season. The data generated also adds value to your environmental stewardship, year on year. We can also install bespoke, mains-powered boxes for live on-line feeds to promote your visitor attraction – contact us for details!

    Sponsorship Opportunities

    Invest in your community and help us to get as many nest boxes out there as possible. We are actively generating opportunities to place nest boxes with schools and other community outlets. Your support will contribute to environmental research and education. We laser-etch our box fronts to represent you and your gift stylishly and effectively. Contact us to learn more!

    Recent blog posts

    Video to go here