Mapping Wildlife: Community Science and Conservation

by Sam Cable | September 10, 2026

Where are the plants and wildlife that need protection? Every photo sitting on your phone of birds at your feeders, every memory card filled with shots of Northern Harriers and Short-eared Owls dancing over the pastures at Ridgefield, and every saved Merlin app recording of a Killdeer flying over the Costco parking lot can help researchers answer that question. As an obsessive birder and occasional field recorder, I spend a significant amount of time outside seeking birds and trying to capture audio recordings of them. At the same time, Vancouver Audubon has a thriving community of nature photographers in both the Steigerwald Photography Group and Cameraderie. All of us spending so much time capturing photos and recordings of nature leads to a wealth of one resource that conservation needs: data.

Migrating birds rely on a delicate network of stopover sites to rest and refuel on their journeys. We need to know where migratory birds are reproducing, where they are going for the winter, and what sites they are using along the way. This sort of data is challenging to collect, but it is integral to protecting birds and the sites they need to survive. Through Vancouver Audubon’s programs, we have gotten a glimpse of the various ways that researchers address these questions. In June, Gretchen Newberry spoke about tracking down Common Nighthawk nesting sites using satellite images to find suitable habitat and deploying cameras to monitor those sites. Earlier in March, Vanessa Loverti spoke to us about the Motus Network, which uses radiotelemetry and tiny receivers to track migrating birds, bats, and butterflies. Researchers are limited in how much funding they can access and how much ground they can physically cover. Gretchen and Vanessa are experts in their fields, but you don’t necessarily need a Ph.D. to find and identify birds. You and I are doing the birding part already, so the question pivots: how do we get our data into the hands of scientists?

Community science is a way for everyday observations by birders, botanizers, and amateur naturalists of all kinds to help researchers map out where plants and wildlife are. You may know of, or already engage in, some of these projects. The Cornell Lab’s eBird, Project Feederwatch, or Project Nestwatch are all familiar names. Several Vancouver Audubon volunteers conduct raptor surveys during the winter. Another project, iNaturalist, is well known for its machine learning software’s ability to suggest plant identifications, but this project primarily serves as a way for the public to collect and submit observations of any organism or signs of that organism’s presence. The latter includes observations of things like feathers, footprints, and technically even fossils.

When you upload a photo or sound recording to iNaturalist, a community of fellow users and experts then weigh in on your submission to either confirm or refine the identity of your bird, feather, nest, tracks, or whatever other organism. An observation with multiple identifications in consensus achieves “Research Grade” status. Now, your observation is greenlit for use in biodiversity studies that inform land management decisions around the world. As of 2025, over 500,000 species have been recorded on iNaturalist.

Celebrating Fall Migration with Science

Fall Migration is happening now. Millions of birds are flying over our heads every night (turn your lights out, by the way), and Vancouver Audubon’s 3^rd annual Migratory Bird Celebration is a little more than a week from now. As we gear up to celebrate these birds and their journeys, we’re launching a community science project through iNaturalist. With Vancouver Audubon’s BirdBlitz, we are encouraging you to get outside and contribute observations of birds across Clark, Klickitat, and Skamania counties all in the spirit of supporting conservation research. The project starts this Saturday, September 12th then culminates on September 19th at the Migratory Bird Celebration. We are already gathering data, let’s share it with researchers and, in turn, help birds. Experts and beginners alike are encouraged to join. The only experience you really need is to be able to recognize that something is a bird and then get a clear enough picture or recording for that bird to be identifiable by project members. Participating in the BirdBlitz is easy:

1. Join the Project: Log in or create an account on iNaturalist using either the free app or your desktop browser. Then go to the Vancouver Audubon BioBlitz project page and hit “Join”.
2. Find Birds: Head outdoors and check your backyards between September 12th and September 19th in Clark, Klickitat, and Skamania counties to look for birds or signs of their presence, including feathers, nests, footprints, and pellets (note: please leave these items where you found them. Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, it is illegal to possess feathers of most species of birds with very limited exceptions).
3. Upload Observations: Submit your observations on iNaturalist. Eligible observations by project members will be automatically included!
4. Contribute Identifications: Can’t get outdoors or want to do more? Log in to review and suggest identifications on observations submitted by other project members. Only suggest identifications for observations that you are able to identify based solely on the attached media.

Then, on Saturday, September 19^th, join us for a free and family-friendly morning of games, crafts, and bird outings at the Migratory Bird celebration:

• When: Saturday, September 19th, 2026 from 10am to 1pm
• Where: Water Resources Education Center, 4600 SE Columbia Way, Vancouver, WA