Browse Projects
100% Complete
48 Total pages
5 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Album, Panama, 1957, Vol. 1
Did you know that the 365 islands that make up the San Blas archipelago of Panama are largely uninhabited? The islands also lie outside the Atlantic hurricane region, leaving the environment undisturbed by natural disasters. These factors made the San Blas Islands a perfect place for a scientist like Alexander Wetmore to explore! Ornithologist and former Smithsonian Secretary Wetmore made an annual trip to Panama, to collect specimen and research for what would become his book, "The Birds of The Republic of Panama." On his 1957 expedition, Wetmore traveled to San Blas to study the native wildlife--documented in this photo album, alongside other locations throughout Panama. Sail off to the San Blas Islands and help transcribe the captions from this fascinating set of images!
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55 Total pages
9 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Album, Panama, 1957, Vol. 2
Did you know that when the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama was established in 1923, it was just one small field station? In the decades since, the Smithsonian's Panama facilities have greatly expanded to conduct long-term biological studies and host hundreds of visiting scientists--including former Smithsonian Secretary Alexander Wetmore. Wetmore visited the Smithsonian's Panama field station as part of his annual trip to study the region's bird populations. This album contains photographs of Wetmore's work at the research station, at the beginning of its expansion throughout the 1940s-1980s. Help transcribe the image captions from this album and get a unique insight into the Smithsonian's international environmental research!
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117 Total pages
31 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Arkansas and Texas, 1917-1918 : To investigate damage done by birds
What can I do to protect these crops? In 1917, farmers in southern Texas had already been through two dry seasons, impacting their rice harvests. Species like the red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) were making a further dent in the farmers' fields. They reached out to the United States Department of Agriculture and its Bureau of Biological Survey. Ornithologist Alexander Wetmore was sent to investigate and determine how the farmers might best address this threat in a environmentally-responsible way. Team up with other volunpeers to transcribe Wetmore's account of his investigations in Texas, and later Arkansas. Discover the scope of the problem and what were considered to be acceptable solutions at the beginning of the 20th century.
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13 Total pages
7 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Field Notes, 1935-36
Did you know that much of the area now known as Shenandoah National Park--which spans nearly 80,000 acres of Northern Virginia--was still farmland when it was officially established as a National Park in 1936? Get insight to this National Park in transition with Alexander Wetmore's 1935-36 field notes from the Shenandoah Mountains. Wetmore, an ornithologist and future Smithsonian Secretary, was Assistant Secretary of the U.S. National Museum in 1935. Even with his administrative duties, Wetmore found time to conduct field research and observe birds throughout Virginia and West Virginia. Travel through the Shenandoah Mountains with Wetmore and join other digital volunteers in transcribing his field books!
100% Complete
105 Total pages
27 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Field Notes, August - December 1904
At 18 years of age, Alexander Wetmore was still a year away from college, but he had been observing and studying birds seriously since his early teens. His first paper "My Experience with a Red-headed Woodpecker" was published in the bi-monthly magazine
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22 Total pages
9 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Field Notes, February-August 1913
What kinds of birds would you expect to spot in the United States capitol? Find out with this set of bird observations taken by Alexander Wetmore--an ornithologist and conservationist who would serve as the sixth Smithsonian Secretary from 1945-1952. This collection of notes, taken in 1913, were made in the Washington, D.C. area while Wetmore was working as an assistant biologist for the US Department of Agriculture's Biological Survey bureau. Wetmore's journal includes entries made at Georgetown, the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Chesapeake Beach, and other locations in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Join us in transcribing this set of field notes and learn more about United States wildlife!
100% Complete
83 Total pages
36 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Field Notes, January - August 1904
In these field notes, future Smithsonian Secretary Wetmore includes more exacting details about birds he and fellow travelers studied than he had in previous years. Some of these include measurements, sex, appearance, and collector. Join us in transcribing this record of observation and specimen collecting in in south central Wisconsin and southeastern Kansas.
100% Complete
83 Total pages
32 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Field notes, January 1898 - April 1902 around North Freedom, Wisconsin, No. 1
What were you passionate about when you were twelve? Alexander Wetmore's first field journal captured his observations of pelicans during a vacation in Florida. He was eight years old. By 1898, his passion for the study of birds had only grown. Young "Aleck" Wetmore used the wildlife around his home of North Freedom, Wisconsin, to sharpen his observation skills. He would go on be a leader in the field of ornithology and avian paleontology as well as sixth Secretary of the Smithsonian. Please join us and fellow volunteers to transcribe his 1898 field journal, recorded when he was twelve.
100% Complete
80 Total pages
21 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Field notes, January 1898 - April 1902 around North Freedom, Wisconsin, No. 2
It can be challenging to predict which childhood interest will trigger a lifelong passion. In the case of Alexander Wetmore, it was pelicans he watched while on vacation in Florida. He was eight years old. His interest in birds never flagged and led to a correspondence with Smithsonian Secretary Spencer Baird in the late 1890's. Later still, he served as the director of the National Zoological Park and the Smithsonian's sixth Secretary. Join other volunpeers in transcribing the second of two field journals a teen-aged Wetmore kept of observations around his Wisconsin home.
100% Complete
7 Total pages
5 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Field notes, July 1903
A field journal with only one entry? After noting his observations of blue herons near his home town of North Freedom, Wisconsin, it seems young Wetmore moved on to a new journal.
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81 Total pages
33 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Field Notes, November 1907 - May 1908
What began as a childhood interest became a lifelong pursuit for ornithologist Alexander Wetmore (1886 - 1978). His work involved the pioneering Biological Survey of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, science leadership of the Tanager Expeditions (1923-1924) and shortly thereafter he became the sixth Smithsonian Secretary. This set of his field notes contain his personal observations and studies of birds around Lawrence, Kansas two years before joining the Biological Survey in 1910. The chronological entries detail not just bird behavior, songs and specimens collected but notes about the landscape, weather conditions and more. Your help transcribing these field notes improves their usefulness to researchers in biodiversity and other fields of study.
100% Complete
22 Total pages
5 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Field Notes, October 1911
Do you remember the excitement of your first job? Relive it with Alexander Wetmore's field notes from October 1911. This collection of notes were taken shortly after Wetmore began his first job, working for the US Department of Agriculture's Biological Survey bureau, and includes bird counts and observations taken during his collecting trips. Wetmore would go on to have a long career in science, and serve as Smithsonian Secretary from 1945-1952. Join us in transcribing this set of field notes and make Wetmore's observations available for scientists today.
