Join us as a volunteer and help The Observatory monitor breeding bird activity at over 100 constructed bird boxes throughout Port Washington, WI as part of our Neighborhood Habitat Improvement Program (NHIP), which aims to improve residential areas for birds, pollinators and water quality. Nesting Navigators receive a signup link to select a nesting trail to monitor on a weekly basis during the breeding season (April-July). Monitoring involves checking boxes for evidence of nesting, counting number of eggs laid, counting number of chicks hatched and number of chicks that leave the nest and entering data into the mobile NestWatch application.
Commitment and Orientation Training
- Boxes need to be checked 1-2 times/week during the nesting season (April 1 -July 31). Volunteers are requested to signup in advance to select nesting trail routes that consist of 2 - 8 boxes/route. 1 box check takes approx. 5 minutes incl. data entry
- One 10-minute self-guided and one 2-hour in-person or virtual training is required annually
Below are dates and times that LMBO staff will be hosting training sessions.
PLEASE SIGN UP IN ADVANCE FOR TRAINING SESSIONS: https://signup.com/go/woVrcxE
- Thursday, March 20: 3:00 - 5:00 PM
- Tuesday March 25: 3:00 -5:00 PM
- Thursday March 27: 4:00 – 5:30 PM
- Saturday March 29: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
- Thursday April 3: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
- Saturday April 5: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
- Tuesday April 8: 4:00 – 5:30 PM
- Saturday April 12: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
All nesting navigator training will begin at the Lake Michigan Bird Observatory office at 116 W. Grand Ave. Suite 111 Port Washington, WI 53074. There will be a field component at Upper Lake Park.
