NestWatch Chapter

Greene County Parks & Trails (GCP&T) has been named the first official NestWatch Chapter in the greater-Dayton area and the fifth in the State of Ohio, according to GCP&T Staff Naturalist Jared Merriman.

NestWatch is a citizen science project organized by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and is dedicated to the study of nesting birds.

NestWatch chapters are based at nature centers, parks, wildlife refuges, zoos and nature-minded organizations across the United States. These organizations help teach and train others about monitoring nesting birds in their communities, Merriman adds.

GCP&T will use its new status to educate others about its bluebird box monitoring program and give its volunteers the ability to enter monitoring data from their smart phone or home computer.

As a NestWatch Chapter, residents can use GCP&T as their go-to location for their nesting bird monitoring in all locations —on their front porch, in their backyard, along the paved trails, etc.

GCP&T has established bluebird trails at Narrows Reserve, Karohl Park, Spring Lakes Park, Russ Nature Reserve and Twin Towers Park. GCP&T partner organizations —- Ohio Bluebird Society and Beavercreek Wetlands Association —- also have bluebird boxes at Russ Nature Reserve, Koogler Wetland Prairie Reserve and Phillips Park that could participate in the program.

For more information, contact the park agency at 937-562-6440 or visit www.gcparkstrails.com.