Community Science

Explore Your World with Community Science

You don’t need to be a scientist to do community science—the only requirement is your own curiosity! Community science with the National Aviary brings opportunities for families and individuals throughout southwestern Pennsylvania to engage in the scientific process and discover the natural world in their own backyard or local park. Community science is real science that uses the interest and ability of large numbers of people to make accurate observations of nature. National Aviary researchers work with community members to teach them what to look for, what information to collect, and how to record and submit their data. Community science can contribute significantly to scientific studies of birds. Projects like the Christmas Bird Count and the Great Backyard Bird Count have used the observations of community members for decades!

We invite people to help with studies of nesting backyard birds, migrating owls, and wintering hummingbirds.

Project Owlnet

Project Owlnet is a continent-wide research effort to understand the migration of Northern Saw-whet Owls.

Neighborhood Nestwatch 

The National Aviary works with dozens of families in urban, suburban, and rural areas around Pittsburgh to document the survival and reproductive success of eight common bird species.

Tracking Western Hummingbirds

The National Aviary Ornithologist Bob Mulvihill follows up on reports of unusual hummingbirds. Banding these tiny birds helps scientists understand their migration patterns.

In The News

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Eurasian Eagle-Owl Chick Hatches at National Aviary | National Aviary

A Eurasian Eagle-Owl, one of the largest owl species in the world, has hatched at the National Aviary.

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Pittsburgh’s National Aviary welcomes a new male Andean Condor | 90.5 WESA

The National Aviary publicly welcomed a new, male Andean Condor named Bud to Pittsburgh this week.

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Meet Bud: National Aviary announces arrival of new Andean condor | WTAE

The National Aviary announced the arrival of one of its newest residents Thursday.

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Valentine’s Day Lovebirds: National Aviary celebrates dove hatching, bird couples | Yahoo! News

This Valentine’s Day, love is in the air, right alongside the birds at the National Aviary.

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