Boulder Chickadee Study | Kathryn Grabenstein

The Boulder Chickadee Study

G. Semenov

The Boulder Chickadee Study is citizen-science network of nest boxes that monitors black-capped and mountain chickadee breeding in the City of Boulder and surrounding mountains (1475m to 3383m) to answer questions in evolutionary biology.

For my dissertation work, I founded & directed the Boulder Chickadee Study as a research framework, community science network and mentoring, teaching, and outreach tool.

I built and deployed 400+ nest boxes throughout 70+ private backyards in Boulder County, CO.

I use these nest boxes to monitor when and where chickadees breed in Boulder, CO, and how successful they are (i.e., how many eggs do they lay).

Using genomic tools, I measure hybridization between Colorado chickadees.

To date, the Boulder Chickadee Study has been used to train undergraduates in field techniques, mentor students (graduate and undergraduate) in original research, teach university & high school students, inspire artists & journalists, and motivate countless members of the public.

Thanks to the many graduate, undergraduates, community college, and high school students I have worked with to get this project up and running and to the landowners who have supported this project and the sciences.