Robin watch is our informal citizen science project to encourage families, classes, and people who are so very ready for spring to watch for and report about robin activity in their locale on Twitter, using the hashtag #robinwatch.
The name Robin watch is borrowed, in part, from a BBC television series called Springwatch which runs in late May through mid June and is a show dedicated to phenology. With its quiet production values and things like badger cams and videos of foxes cavorting in gardens, it's a lovely treat to watch.
Alas, RobinWatch will not have production values given a non-existent budget. Rather, there will be tweeting about... er, literal tweeting and robins and things phenological in South Dakota. The event will run from around President's Day to the first day of spring.
What should you tweet? If you see a flock, tweet it. If you see a single robin, tweet it. If you hear a robin, tweet it. If you find a robin poem, or know a good book or have a lesson plan involving robins, tweet it. Pictures? Tweet it.
What if there are no robins evident? Tweet it. Seriously. Zero robins is a legitimate data point.
Your tweet should have your location (generally, not like your home address), robin behavior and include #robinwatch or we won't be able to find it unless you tweet it directly to us.
Happy tweeting!
