Find the box
See the trail, box number, and previous visit notes before recording a new observation.
FIELD NOTES FOR A WILDER WORLD
Every nestbox
has a story.
Meet Monitor Birds: an upcoming companion for the people who check in, take notes, and care about what happens next.
✳ A project by Velan Natarajan, inspired by three years of bluebird monitoring.
A little more clarity in the field.
01 / THE REASON
Good observations make a lasting difference.
Every week during nesting season, volunteers visit boxes, photograph what they find, and record the details that tell the story of a season.
Monitor Birds is being imagined to make those field notes easier to capture, easier to review, and more useful over time.
Learn about Loudoun’s monitoring program02 / THE IDEA
From box visit
to better record.
One simple flow built around the work volunteers already do.
Capture the moment
Add a photo and record the nest stage, species, eggs, young, and other field notes.
Review & remember
Confirm the details and build a visit history that can support trail review and reporting.
03 / LOOKING AHEAD
A helping hand,
never a guess in charge.
We’re exploring photo assisted suggestions for nest species, egg counts, and nestling age. Volunteers would review and correct every suggestion before it becomes part of the record.
The first focus is nestbox monitoring. The name leaves room to grow into other kinds of bird monitoring in the future.
04 / THE PERSON BEHIND THE IDEA
Designed from time
on the trail.
Monitor Birds is the design idea of Velan Natarajan, who is designing and developing the project. He has spent three years as a volunteer bluebird monitor, learning the rhythm of nestbox visits firsthand.
Velan began monitoring on the Zephaniah Farm Vineyard Trail and later added a Banshee Reeks trail. Those field experiences are shaping a tool made for the people who do the observing.
05 / COMING SOON
IN DEVELOPMENTThe next chapter
is taking shape.
We’re shaping Monitor Birds with real field experience and nestbox photos. The app is not available for download yet. This page will share the next steps as the project grows.
App download links will live here.Check back for release updates.