About BirdCast | Tracking and Predicting Live Bird Migrations
Developed in partnership by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Colorado State University, and University of Massachusetts Amherst; with funding from National Science Foundation, Leon Levy Foundation, and Amazon Web Services; supported by NOAA, US Geological Survey, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, NASA, Microsoft, Houston Audubon Society, Perot Museum, and Dallas Zoo.
Founded in 1999, “BirdCast proposed to provide real-time predictions of bird migrations: when they migrate, where they migrate, and how far they will be flying.” By 2010, the team had adopted innovative machine learning techniques to improve migratory predictions affected by daily weather changes and human population influence. Then, by the beginning of Spring 2018, BirdCast succeeded in their goal in providing the public with an elegantly crafted bird migration map and forecast.
With the efforts of over 25 brilliant scientists over the span of nearly 2 decades, today – more than anytime before in history – we have a crystal clear understanding of the migratory pattern of birds in the United States.
In the News:
- ‘BirdCast: Predicting Bird Migrations’
- npr, Nell Greenfieldboyce, September 16, 2018
- ‘How to Get the Most Out of BirdCast’s Migration Forecasts’
- Audubon Magazine, Jenny McKee, May 11, 2022
- ‘A Feather Forecast to Help You Tune Into Fall’s Magnificent Migrations’
- BayNature, Lia Keener, September 8, 2022
- ‘Crowdsourcing, for the Birds’
- The New York Times, Jim Robbins, August 19, 2013
- ‘While you sleep, scientists will use a space telescope to spy on migrating birds’
- Popular Science, Dyani Sabin, May 21, 2018
