Martha Fischer
Bird Education
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Hello. My name is Martha Fischer. I have been asked to answer your questions about the American Robin. I have watched and studied this birdfor many years. Let me tell you a little about myself.
I grew up in Ohio, in a small town surrounded by farms, fields, and woodlands. The woods were my playground (when I wasn't at school) and I spent hours there catching crayfish and frogs, climbing trees, and listening to and watching birds. It was easy to watch and learn about birds in my household-our bird feeders were always full of seeds and birds, and the field guide was easy to find. My mother nurtured my interest, too, and did not mind when I awoke her in the middle of the night to have her listento the two Great Horned Owls calling in the trees just outside our house. By fourth grade, I knew I wanted to become an ornithologist.
What is an ornithologist? An ornithologist is someone who studies birds. There are professional ornithologists, people who have gone to college and studied for many years to earn a Ph.D., and who have jobs studying birds. And there are amateur ornithologists, folks who have jobs not related to birds but, who, in their spare time, observe birds and keep records just because they love to. I consider myself an amateur ornithologist-- even though I work at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, I do not have a Ph.D. in ornithology. I have a BA in Biology and I watch birds as much as I can and volunteer to help collect data about birds as often as the opportunity arises.
I work in the Bird Education Program at the Lab. I am the coordinator of one of our volunteer-assisted research projects. It is called Project PigeonWatch. Scientists at the Lab want to learn more about the biology of the city pigeons-especially, they want to know why and how so many different colors of pigeons exist in cities. You can help with this project if you'd like... we want anyone between the ages of 8 and 80 to help collect lots of data so we can figure out the answers to these questions.
Coordinating PigeonWatch takes a good bit of my time, but I still have time enough to work on conservation projects (I put together the "Citizen's Guide to Migratory Bird Conservation) and answer questions from the public. So I look forward to hearing your questions. I know quite a bit about birds, and whatever I can't answer, I'll be able to reach into our library here at the Lab or tap the many other resources available to me at Cornell University.
Spring is an exciting time. For me, bird migration makes it so. I can hardly wait to get out to see the new arrivals!
Martha Fischer
**Visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology WEB SITE
Martha Fischer
Project PigeonWatch Coordinator
Bird Education
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Rd.
Ithaca, NY 14850
607-254-2403
607-254-2415 FAX
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