science

North American Bird Phenology Program

North American Bird Phenology Program is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand North American Bird Phenology Program rather than just read about it. In short: The North American Bird Phenology Program houses a collection of six million Migration Observer Cards that contain information regarding migration patterns and population status of the birds of North America. These handwritten cards contain almost all of what was known of bird distribution and natural history from the latter part of the 19th century through World War II.

Key takeaways

North American Bird Phenology Program belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect North American Bird Phenology Program to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of North American Bird Phenology Program from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The North American Bird Phenology Program houses a collection of six million Migration Observer Cards that contain information regarding migration patterns and population status of the birds of North America. These handwritten cards contain almost all of what was known of bird distribution and natural history from the latter part of the 19th century through World War II. The bulk of the records are the result of the work of a network of observers who recorded migration arrival dates in the spring and fall in a program that, in its heyday, involved 3000 participants. Today, those records are being processed and placed into a modern database for analysis. This information will be used, along with recently collected arrival times of migrant birds, and in conjunction with historical weather data, to examine how bird migration may be affected by climate change. This analysis aims to provide information on bird distribution, migration timing and migration pathways and how they are changing.

History

The program began in 1881 by Wells W. Cooke, who wanted to broaden knowledge and understanding of bird migration. While teaching on the White Earth Indian Reservation in Minnesota, Cooke began noting the arrival dates of migratory birds. He later coordinated volunteers throughout the Mississippi Flyway to collect arrival and departure data. His success sparked the interest of the newly formed American Ornithologists' Union (AOU), who convened a committee on the distribution and migration of birds and chose C. Hart Merriam to be its chief. The AOU expanded the volunteer network to include the entire United States, Canada, and a portion of the West Indies. The program outgrew the capabilities of the AOU and was then passed, in the late 1880s, to the Division of Economic Ornithology where it reached its greatest extent of 3000 volunteers. The Division of Economic Ornithology would later become the Bureau of Biological Survey and eventually lead to the creation of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Although the program was actively maintained by the Federal Government, participation gradually declined and, in 1970, the program was closed. For many years since, these records have been kept safe by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Wells W. Cooke

Wells W. Cooke, son of Reverend Elisha Woodbridge Cook and Martha Miranda (Smith) Cook, was born on January 25, 1858, in Haydenville, Massachusetts. The 5th of nine children and eldest boy, Cooke developed an interest in natural history at the age of 12, when he received his first gun. He was known to collect bird specimens from his neighborhood and surrounding area. Cooke went on to receive an A.B. and A.M. degree from Ripon College. After his marriage to Carrie Amy Raymond in 1879, Cooke became a teacher in Indian schools and secondary schools in Minnesota. It was here, in Minnesota, that Cooke first began documenting arrival dates and began what is now the BPP. Notably, Wells Cooke, became a member of the newly formed American Ornithologists' Union in 1884, elected in part due to papers he published while teaching in the Mississippi Valley. In 1885, Cooke became a Professor, and over a 16-year period was associated with three colleges: the University of Vermont, the Agricultural College of Colorado, and the state College of Pennsylvania. Cooke also began an appointment with the Biological Survey in the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1901 which lasted for 15 years, in which he published many publications on bird migration and distribution. Wells W. Cooke contributed in countless ways to the field of ornithology. He was the most eminent biologist on bird migration and distribution of his time.

Chandler Robbins Chandler "Chan" Robbins was one of the last coordinators of the BPP before it stopped accepting migration records in 1970. He is a lifelong birder and casts a long shadow in the birding world. In an interview conducted by Sam Droege, Chan talks about the history of the BPP, how it began, who ran the program and why it came to a close.

Migration Cards

BPP Office The Bird Phenology Program office is located at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with North American Bird Phenology Program

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what North American Bird Phenology Program claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to North American Bird Phenology Program before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about North American Bird Phenology Program ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of North American Bird Phenology Program

In research: North American Bird Phenology Program appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses North American Bird Phenology Program in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: North American Bird Phenology Program is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Ornithological citizen science, Ornithological equipment and methods, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for North American Bird Phenology Program outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study North American Bird Phenology Program in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what North American Bird Phenology Program means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain North American Bird Phenology Program out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is North American Bird Phenology Program in simple terms?

Why does North American Bird Phenology Program matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study North American Bird Phenology Program?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on North American Bird Phenology Program.