North American Bird Phenology Program
Encyclopedia
Birds of North America
Birds of North America is a comprehensive encyclopedia with substantial articles about each individual bird species.It was first published as a series of 716 printed booklets, prepared by over 5000 individual researchers, and made available in no particular order from 1992 through 2003...
. These handwritten cards contain almost all of what was known of bird distribution and natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
from the latter part of the 19th century through World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. 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
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
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
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
is being affected by climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
. The information from this analysis will provide critical information on bird distribution, migration timing and migration pathways
Flyway
A flyway is a flight path used in bird migration. Flyways generally span over continents and often oceans.-Flyways of the Americas:*Atlantic Flyway*Central Flyway*Mississippi Flyway*Pacific Flyway*Allegheny Front...
and how they are changing. There is no other program that has this depth of information that can help us understand the effect that global climate change has on bird populations across the continent.
History
The program began in 1881 by Wells W. CookeWells Cooke
Wells Woodbridge Cooke , was an American ornithologist who was called the “father of cooperative study of bird migration in America”....
, who wanted to broaden knowledge and understanding of bird migration
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
. While teaching on the White Earth Indian Reservation
White Earth Indian Reservation
The White Earth Indian Reservation is the home to the White Earth Nation, located in northwestern Minnesota. It is the largest Indian reservation in that state...
in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, Cooke began noting the arrival dates of migratory birds. He later coordinated volunteers throughout the Mississippi Flyway
Mississippi Flyway
The Mississippi Flyway is a bird migration route that generally follows the Mississippi River in the United States and the Mackenzie River in Canada. The main endpoints of the flyway include central Canada and the region surrounding the Gulf of Mexico...
to collect arrival and departure data.
His success sparked the interest of the newly formed American Ornithologists' Union
American Ornithologists' Union
The American Ornithologists' Union is an ornithological organization in the USA. Unlike the National Audubon Society, its members are primarily professional ornithologists rather than amateur birders...
(AOU), who convened a committee on the distribution and migration of birds and chose C. Hart Merriam
Clinton Hart Merriam
Clinton Hart Merriam was an American zoologist, ornithologist, entomologist and ethnographer.Known as "Hart" to his friends, Dr. Clinton Hart Merriam was born in New York City in 1855. His father, Clinton Levi Merriam, was a U.S. congressman. He studied biology and anatomy at Yale University and...
to be its chief. The AOU expanded the volunteer network to include the entire United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, 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
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
(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 CollegeRipon College (Wisconsin)
Ripon College is a liberal arts college in Ripon, Wisconsin, USA. It offers small class sizes and intensive mentoring to students. Ripon has a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa--one of the nation's most prestigious honor societies. Alumni have high rates of success in the workforce as well as acceptance...
. 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 Ornithologist’s 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
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
, the Agricultural College of Colorado
Colorado State University
Colorado State University is a public research university located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The university is the state's land grant university, and the flagship university of the Colorado State University System.The enrollment is approximately 29,932 students, including resident and...
, and the state College of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
. 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
Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...
. He was the most eminent biologist on bird migration and distribution of his time.