History
The program began in 1881 by Wells W. Cooke, who wanted to broaden knowledge and understanding of bird migration. While teaching on the White Earth Indian Reservation in Minnesota, Cooke began noting the arrival dates of migratory birds. He later coordinated volunteers throughout the Mississippi Flyway to collect arrival and departure data.
His success sparked the interest of the newly formed American Ornithologists' Union (AOU), who convened a committee on the distribution and migration of birds and chose C. Hart Merriam to be its chief. The AOU expanded the volunteer network to include the entire United States, Canada, and a portion of the West Indies. The program outgrew the capabilities of the AOU and was then passed, in the late 1880s, to the Division of Economic Ornithology where it reached its greatest extent of 3000 volunteers.
The Division of Economic Ornithology would later become the Bureau of Biological Survey and eventually lead to the creation of the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Although the program was actively maintained by the Federal Government, participation gradually declined and, in 1970, the program was closed. For many years since, these records have been kept safe by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Read more about this topic: North American Bird Phenology Program
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