How did human curiosity guide a citizen science project that monitors banded birds? Lessons for future projects in Brazil

This manuscript is the English version of the paper 'Como a curiosidade humana norteou um projeto de ciência cidadã que monitora aves anilhadas? Lições aos futuros projetos brasileiros'. Boletim do Museu de Biologia Prof. Mello Leitão, 1(2):87-95. Conducting scientific research with public participation can close the gap between academia and society, however, this can be a complex task. In this manuscript, we share our experiences from four ornithological studies carried out as part of the citizen science project “Did I see a banded bird!?”. We emphasize how the mistakes made and challenges experienced have gradually helped shape the current objectives of this project. The project started in 2016 with the aim of measuring the home range of birds in a forest remnant with the help of the public. Each bird was banded with a unique combination of colors, and the public was recruited to visit the site. Upon resighting a banded bird, the participants were encouraged to report the exact location of the encounter, time, date, and band color combination. In the first attempt, the low number of citizens engaged (n=10) was insufficient to collect the data necessary to investigate forest species. However, the same monitoring method was opportunely tested in subsequent studies that required information on individual birds. Driven by the curiosity of several citizens, we studied Red-legged Seriema and Southern House Wren behavior in urban landscapes, and the effects of feeders on bird communities. Even with a small team with high turnover, limited funding, and technological limitations, from 2016 to 2023, the project banded 515 birds of 94 species at seven locations and generated 986 resighting records with the contribution of 329 citizens. These results and the success of the investigations have determined the project’s future scope of activities. We hope that the trajectory of the project expressed in this manuscript inspires other Brazilians to overcome possible challenges when implementing their citizen science projects.