Have you seen this bird in your backyard?

Contribute to science this summer by opening up your yard to bird biologists!

Wild Animal Initiative, a nonprofit research organization, is researching house sparrows. To widen our dataset, we're looking for backyards in the Houston area where we can set up our equipment to monitor the birds there. We are looking for Houston area residents who are willing to let us conduct this research in their backyards. Would you let us borrow your yard as a research site?

We are looking for Houston area residents who are willing to let us conduct this research in their backyards. Would you let us borrow your yard as a research site?

A Wild Animal Initiative researcher hangs a long birdfeeder on a hook in a suburban backyard.

About the project

Wild Animal Initiative is studying house sparrow behavior and welfare. This project will help us learn how to assess the welfare of wild birds, using house sparrows as a study species because they are abundant and easy to observe. 

The results of this study will be published in one or more peer-reviewed scientific journals. The results have the potential to advance science by introducing novel methods for other researchers to use, and by increasing the information available to scientists, wildlife managers, and urban planners about house sparrow biology and wild bird welfare.

What to expect if you lend us your yard

  • The study period will last up to eight weeks.

  • Wild Animal Initiative researchers will set up a bird feeder in your backyard, and we’ll stop by 1-3 times per week throughout the study period to refill the feeder.

  • We’ll also set up a video camera to monitor the bird feeder.

  • There will be one day when we’ll come by to temporarily capture some of the birds to measure them and put leg bands on them. The birds will then be released unharmed.

  • Then, we will stop by a few times a week for up to 3 hours each visit, to make changes to the feeder and see how those changes affect the birds’ behavior. For example, we might provide more food than usual, or provide a cool space for birds to take a break from the heat.

If you have further questions, contact our research team at: sparrow.research@wildanimalinitiative.org