Date: 6/30/25 10:13 am
From: Olivia V. Sanderfoot via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] Project Phoenix: Investigating Bird Responses to Smoke

Hello fellow birders!

My name is Dr. Olivia Sanderfoot, and I am a postdoc at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County studying impacts of wildfire smoke on the health and behavior of birds. I am also Program Director of <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.projectphoenix.study__;!!Ljrh0eb5atLX!oIS0cD7IqQFBAqFnMwOyTbntc-5KzRRdthe2fhf0Z9wXK2mfCrcqdE1L3PCzUAOrYLCU_H_Flh2D320oeA$>Project Phoenix <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://projectphoenix.study/__;!!Ljrh0eb5atLX!oIS0cD7IqQFBAqFnMwOyTbntc-5KzRRdthe2fhf0Z9wXK2mfCrcqdE1L3PCzUAOrYLCU_H_Flh3XtMhIiQ$>, a regional community science program to investigate bird responses to smoke.

Project Phoenix 2025 kicks off tomorrow, and we are looking forward to another summer of birding with our incredible volunteers. Will you join us to make 2025 our biggest year yet? Sign up today! <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.project-phoenix-investigating-bird-responses-to-smoke.org/get-involved__;!!Ljrh0eb5atLX!oIS0cD7IqQFBAqFnMwOyTbntc-5KzRRdthe2fhf0Z9wXK2mfCrcqdE1L3PCzUAOrYLCU_H_Flh1kCuD5Aw$>
By participating in Project Phoenix, you are contributing to a vital dataset to help us understand how birds are impacted by wildfires in the American West. Together, we will discover how birds respond to smoke disturbance in real time and identify the places and resources birds need to thrive in the hotter and smokier summers to come.

Data collection will begin on Tuesday, July 1st and continue through the end of November. We are teaming up with Birds Connect Seattle to host <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://secure.birdsconnectsea.org/a/project-phoenix-volunteer-info-session__;!!Ljrh0eb5atLX!oIS0cD7IqQFBAqFnMwOyTbntc-5KzRRdthe2fhf0Z9wXK2mfCrcqdE1L3PCzUAOrYLCU_H_Flh1j1EPuhg$>an info session <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://engage.squarespace-mail.com/r?m=685f0d82012c116463457741&u=https*3A*2F*2Ftockify.com*2Fbirds.connect.sea*2Fdetail*2F1456*2F1751504400000&w=647f759b45719b5c1352f36c&c=b_685dc03cc0e67d12b70c87b5&l=en-US&s=-5ONHPdddI2smJH2FtMjggctMTQ*3D__;JSUlJSUlJSU!!Ljrh0eb5atLX!oIS0cD7IqQFBAqFnMwOyTbntc-5KzRRdthe2fhf0Z9wXK2mfCrcqdE1L3PCzUAOrYLCU_H_Flh3rzKjIRQ$> for both new and returning volunteers on Wednesday, July 2nd from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. PDT. Even if you have previously participated in Project Phoenix, we need you to register again this year. This helps us keep track of volunteer engagement and fine-tune our programming based on collective volunteer interests and previous birding experience. After you sign up, you will receive a confirmation email with more information about how to get started. If you have any questions, please reach out to me any time.

***Finally, a quick note to all the amazing eBird reviewers out there: Our team recognizes that by generating hundreds of additional eBird checklists, our program adds to the workload of local reviewers. We greatly appreciate all of the time and energy you invest in reviewing local checklists – our research is strengthened by your efforts. Although we work very hard to ensure that our volunteers are collecting high quality data (and we provide many resources and opportunities to support beginner birders), we do recognize that our volunteers sometimes make mistakes or rely too heavily on apps like Merlin Bird ID. If there are any common species identification errors you would like us to address among our volunteers or messages/tips and tricks you would like to pass on, please do reach out. I collaborated directly with eBird reviewers while running the COVID-19 lockdown birding study <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-16406-w> in the PNW, and that was enormously helpful.***

Wishing you all safe and happy birding this summer! Thank you for all you do for our feathered friends. :)

~ Olivia

P.S. Please feel free to forward this note to friends, family, colleagues, and any other list_servs who might like to know about our community science initiative!

***

Olivia V. Sanderfoot, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)

Postdoctoral Researcher
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

Research Associate
La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science
Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
University of California, Los Angeles

Email: <osanderfoot...> <mailto:<osanderfoot...>
Website: www.ovsanderfoot.com <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.ovsanderfoot.com__;!!Ljrh0eb5atLX!oIS0cD7IqQFBAqFnMwOyTbntc-5KzRRdthe2fhf0Z9wXK2mfCrcqdE1L3PCzUAOrYLCU_H_Flh2j9crdqg$>
Social: @osanderfoot
Phone: 608-692-4460
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