A student observes patterns of flowering and pollinators to determine the potential for mismatches in timing of plants and their insect pollinators.

Credit: National Phenology Network

A father and son measure rainfall data in Concord, N.C., as part of the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS). CoCoRaHS is a unique, nonprofit, community-based network of volunteers of all ages and backgrounds.

Credit: Henry Reges

Submitted for the Great Backyard Bird Count, this is a male hooded merganser on water with its wings outspread and hood raised. The Great Backyard Bird Count is a citizen science project led by Cornell University ornithology and National Audubon Society, with Canadian partner Bird Studies Canada and sponsorship from Wild Birds Unlimited.

Credit: James Hendrickson

Two students recording observations for Project BudBurst, a network of people across the United States who monitor plants as the seasons change.

Credit: Dennis Ward, Project BudBurst, National Ecological Observatory Network

Yellow-bellied marmots are emerging earlier as snow-pack in Colorado's Rocky Mountains disappears earlier when snow melts quickly in warm and early springs. Citizen scientists monitor their activities.

Credit: National Phenology Network

COASST volunteers tag a sooty shearwater, a medium-large long-winged seabird on the coast of Washington state. COASST is the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team, a group of citizen scientists that sees a future in which all coastal communities contribute directly to monitoring local marine resources and ecosystem health.

Credit: Courtesy COASST