Vivian’s interest in birds quickly became an obsession. Shortly after learning about the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Vivian and her husband began participating in The North American Nest-Record Card Program and other citizen-science projects. There she met her future husband, the man who would help spark her interest in birding. The support from her parents helped Vivian develop her go-getter attitude.Īt a small Christian college, Vivian studied math and music-fields that were and still are dominated by men. Although it was uncommon at the time, her father allowed her to drive a team of horses–something typically only done by the men.

Riding horses was another one of her passions. Vivian Pitzrick With Her Lambs in 1919įrom a young age, Vivian learned to break the status quo. Her grandmother was the first female medical doctor trained in western New York, and Vivian was raised to believe she could do anything if she put her mind to it. Most importantly, she learned how to be a trailblazer. On the family farm in Allegany County, New York, Vivian learned how to shear a sheep and banter with the bluebirds. This is the story of Vivian Pitzrick’s contributions to our historic Nest-Record Card Collection.īarefoot, Vivian Pitzrick spent her childhood frolicking through the pastures with her lambs. To make these data more accessible to researchers, NestWatch developed the Nest Quest Go! project to focus on transcribing and digitizing these cards. The Cornell Lab’s North American Nest-Record Card Program ran from the 1960s to the early 2000s and amassed more than 300,000 records on bird nests. Hidden in stacks of yellowed index cards at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology are rich stories of early citizen scientists. Stories from the archives: Vivian Pitzrick the “Nest Hunter” Photo ©Ĭonor Farrell/ Macaulay Library (ML167756751) by Jewel Alston, Cornell class of 2021 A memoir inspired by Nest Quest Go!

Instaling Quest Hunter