By Todd Reubold
We often think of citizen or crew - sourced science as a flashy , new function of our modernistic , inter - machine-accessible world . Butpublic participation in researchhas been happening for much of human history and often involves the great unwashed of all generations .
The documentaryBluebird Manfeatures nonagenarian Al Larson , a self - teach conservationist , and his nearly four - decade - long quest to study and protect three different coinage of fairy bluebird in North America .
Over the past 35 years , Larson has supervise and maintain more than 300 nest corner for bluebirds in the Owyhee Mountains of southwestern Idaho . By his own estimates , he ’s ring nearly 27,000 nesting bluebird .
Why is it crucial for individuals like Larson to impart bluebirds a hand ?
Bluebirds rely on tree cavities to build their nests , but in recent decades they ’ve faced stiff competition from introduce mintage such as the European starling and house hedge sparrow .
In the previous 1970s , scientists and bird lovers united to form theNorth American Bluebird Society , a nonprofit mathematical group commit to preservation of the fairy bluebird . Larson was one of the first citizen scientists to take up the call to action from the freshly formed organization .
His time spent monitoring “ every phase of the breeding appendage from nest building , to eggs egg laying , hatch and finally the fledging of the bluebird wench ” has help inform scientists , nonprofits and others working on bluebird preservation across the region .
Bluebird ManfromWild LensonVimeo .
The documentary “ Bluebird Man ” was produced byWild Lens , a non-profit-making telecasting yield company focused on address wildlife conservation issue .
