Hi friends,
Sean Graesser here — Executive Director of Wild Bird Research Group.
On Giving Tuesday, I’m reminded just how much of our work only happens because people like you choose to stand with us. We are a small, mighty, grassroots nonprofit doing first-of-its-kind science, community outreach, and habitat restoration — and your support fuels every bit of it.
Today, I want to share where we’re headed, the projects that need you, and the impact we can make together.
Hatch-a-Hundred Initiative: Building a Statewide Kestrel Network
2025 is a pivotal year for Hatch-a-Hundred. We’re expanding boxes in Mercer County, installing more nest boxes in Somerset and Hunterdon Counties, and charting a roadmap to take this program statewide — and, someday, beyond New Jersey.
Every box is a datapoint. Every datapoint moves us closer to understanding why American Kestrels are declining across the East. And every box exists because of generous supporters.
We’re also beginning to develop add-on studies on:
- Habitat structure and prey availability
- Landscape-level changes and their influence on nest success
- Broader migration connectivity
“Every time we open a box and find a new clutch, it’s a reminder that community conservation works. Hatch-a-Hundred is making kestrel recovery possible — one box at a time.
Your support helps us build boxes, monitor broods, purchase cameras, and bring people into fieldwork that changes lives.
Northern Saw-whet Owl Telemetry: Tracking What’s Never Been Tracked
Our Saw-whet Owl migration work continues to push the boundaries of what we know about this species.
In New Jersey:
We’re deploying GPS tags to follow long-term migration patterns — the first project of this kind on the East Coast. These data illuminate where owls overwinter, how they navigate fragmented landscapes, and what habitats sustain their journeys.
In North Carolina:
Next year, for the first time ever, we’ll expand this work to the Appalachian population — a mysterious and understudied group of owls with potentially unique migratory behavior. Early signals are already rewriting what we thought we knew.
“When we get that first GPS fix from a migrating owl, suddenly all the long cold nights in the field become worth it. Each data point from these owls is a piece of a story that’s never been told before.”
These GPS tags, antennas, and data subscriptions come directly from donor support. We literally cannot deploy a tag without the community behind us.
Fiddler’s Creek: 10 Plus Years of Long-Term Habitat Monitoring
Fiddler’s Creek remains one of the most important ongoing projects in our organization. After a decade of landscape change, we’re now seeing how habitat maturation is shifting breeding bird communities — from shrubland specialists to returning forest species.
Our banding work there tracks:
- Reproductive success
- Juvenile survival
- Annual site fidelity
- How restored habitat shapes future bird communities
“When a bird returns three or four years in a row to the same area, you realize how meaningful long-term research really is.”
Your support keeps this long-term dataset alive — something increasingly rare in modern ecology.
Community Outreach & Education: Inspiring the Next Generation
We’re expanding programs to meet people where they are — from Owl Nights and Girl Scout science evenings, to events like Wings Over Mercer, to new interpretive content for schools and community groups.
This winter, we’re formalizing new educational modules and building pathways for volunteers, students, and beginner naturalists to get involved.
“I'll never forget the first time my son and I saw a Saw-whet owl in person. We both learned so much that night and it sparked such excitement for this work. It gives me hope for our future.”
Outreach is one of the most impactful — and most underfunded — parts of our mission.
Why Giving Tuesday Matters
Wild Bird Research Group exists because people believe in the work, not because we have major grants or a huge staff. We rely on our community to keep the science going, keep the boxes checked, keep the owls tagged, and keep kids engaged.
Your support on Giving Tuesday means:
- More kestrel boxes on more landscapes
- More GPS tags tracking owls across the Appalachians
- More years of Fiddler’s Creek data
- More students are inspired to pursue conservation
- More birds protected through real research
We do this work together. We always have.
And with your help, we can continue.
If you’re able, I hope you’ll make a gift today.
With gratitude,
Sean Graesser
Executive Director
Wild Bird Research Group
