Browse Projects
100% Complete
86 Total pages
5 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Photo Album, Panama, 1960
The Pearl Islands first emerged several million years ago, when tectonic plates collided, raising the sea floor. The islands later became a stopping point for explorers, from the Spanish conquistadors to former Smithsonian Secretary Alexander Wetmore. A life-long ornithologist, Wetmore studied the Pearl Islands' bird population in 1960, as part of his annual research expedition to Panama. This photo album documents his journey. Explore Pearl Islands' wildlife with Alexander Wetmore and join in on transcribing these album captions!
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51 Total pages
10 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Photo Album, Panama, 1961
Did you know that the highest peak in Panama is an active volcano? Volcan Baru is over 11,000 feet high and lies just off the border of Costa Rica, in Panama's Boqueron region--an area Alexander Wetmore traveled to in 1961! This ornithologist, researcher, and former Smithsonian Secretary took these photos while studying the region in preparation for his book, "Birds of the Republic of Panama." Get an in-depth look at Wetmore's trip through Panama and help transcribe image captions in this fascinating album!
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51 Total pages
6 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Photo Album, Panama, 1962, Vol. 1
When Charles O. Handley returned from service in World War II, he was hired by Smithsonian Secretary Alexander Wetmore to collect birds during an Arctic expedition. Nearly twenty years later, Handley and Wetmore went exploring together in a much different climate! This photo album documents Wetmore's 1962 research trip to Panama, alongside his mentee, Handley. While Wetmore's work in Panama was in preparation for his ornithology text, "Birds of the Republic of Panama," Hanley studied the region's mammals. Explore Panama's wildlife with Wetmore and Handley, and help transcribe image captions in this album!
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46 Total pages
7 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Photo Album, Panama, 1962, Vol. 2
Did you know that in the past decade, the Cocle region of Panama has been home to a variety of field research and conservation activities, ranging from studies on snakes to orchid conservation? In 1962, Smithsonian researchers were there to study birds--led by Alexander Wetmore. Wetmore, an ornithologist and former Smithsonian Secretary, went on expeditions in Panama annually. This 1962 album documents his journey throughout the region, joined by his wife, Beatrice. Travel through the Cocle Province and join other volunteers in transcribing image captions!
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55 Total pages
5 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Photo Album, Panama, 1963
Did you know that of the 365 islands making up the San Blas archipelago of Panama, over 300 are uninhabited? This makes it a perfect place for an ornithologist like Alexander Wetmore to study native wildlife! Explore the San Blas Islands with former Smithsonian Secretary Wetmore, and his team of Smithsonian biologists and taxidermists. This album documents the group's 1963 research trip to Panama. See Smithsonian scientific exploration at work and join other volunteers in transcribing image captions.
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45 Total pages
2 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Photo Album, Venezuela, 1952
In 1948, representatives from governments across the globe joined conservation organizations to create the International Union for the Protection of Nature (now the International Union of Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources). The goal of the IUPN was to help encourage international cooperation in protecting and sharing data about nature and wildlife. And who better to help with that mission than ornithologist and former Smithsonian Secretary Alexander Wetmore? This photo album documents Wetmore's trip to the IUPN conference in 1952. The conference took place in Caracas, the largest city in Venezuela, and the album includes photos from the area and a nearby bird habitat. Join other volunteers in helping transcribe the image captions from this album!
100% Complete
58 Total pages
4 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Photo Album, Venezuela, 1954
If you wanted to conduct a study on the wildlife of Venezuela, where would you start? Former Smithsonian Secretary and ornithologist Alexander Wetmore's field exploration began with the Amazonas territory--a state in Venezuela that covers nearly a fifth of the country's area, but with only one percent of its population. This album depicts Wetmore's trip through the Amazonas territory and its vast natural resources--including its many rivers, caves, and summits. Explore Venezuela's rich environment with Alexander Wetmore and help transcribe the image captions from his album! (Formatting Note: No need to describe image placement on the page! Please use [[image]] on the first line to indicate a photo, followed by a second line with the caption, and a third with the date.)
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3 Total pages
3 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Report, November 1905
When you were a student, did your teachers ever find your homework "exceedingly interesting"? Future Secretary of the Smithsonian Alexander Wetmore's professor sure did! Wetmore wrote this report about the spring bird migration in Southern Kansas for his (9 a.m.!) College Rhetoric class at the University of Kansas in 1905. Wetmore, a freshman at the time, received an "exceedingly interesting" as his grade. Wetmore later went on to have an exceedingly interesting career as an ornithologist and curator, observing birds for decades to come. Join us in transcribing this report and make a young Wetmore's scientific exploration available for generations of new researchers.
100% Complete
151 Total pages
26 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Western United States, 1918
What happens to the land when flocks of migrating birds pass through? In 1918, migrating ducks were a source of great concern to farmers in the western United States, particularly rice farmers. The reports and correspondence in ornithologist Alexander Wetmore's field journal capture the tension between agricultural interests and wildlife protection in different parts of the country. Initially with the Bureau of Biological Survey and later Secretary of the Smithsonian, Alexander Wetmore (1886-1978) and others spent considerable effort to explore and analyze the issue. Join other volunpeers in transcribing this material for a close look at discussions and first-hand discoveries being made in 1918.
100% Complete
138 Total pages
29 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Western United States, 1918 : Correspondence, field reports, and reference materials (1 of 2)
In 1918, farmers were frustrated by the damage migrating birds were causing to their crops. With the August harvest time quickly approaching, farmers across the Southwest, California and Washington were feeling an increasing urgency to protect their crops. No one wanted to lose acres of their harvest to birds, especially ducks. With the United States engaged in World War I, licensing for the purchase, transfer and use of explosives was tightly regulated. The use of "duck bombs" seemed like a promising deterrent. Alexander Wetmore of the Bureau of Biological Survey, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), gathered the information in this field book while on assignment for the Bureau. It includes newspaper clippings, documents of public opinion about farmers' use of explosives, correspondence with the California Board of Fish and Game and USDA officials, and a report on the lake area of the Chusca Mountains. Join other volunpeers in transcribing another of Wetmore's field books about the contentious relationship between migrating birds and American farmers.
100% Complete
114 Total pages
62 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Western United States, 1918: Breeding waterfowl, field diaries
Following his time in southern Texas and Arkansas, ornithologist Alexander Wetmore moves on to spend four months, from late spring to the very end of summer, observing waterfowl breeding in the southwestern United States. Nonetheless, the contentious relationship between migrating birds and farmers through out the Southwest continues to crop up in his notes. This field diary includes wonderfully detailed descriptions and sketches of birds' mating rituals that Wetmore observed interspersed with terse notes about the farmers. One "wants government to send in soldiers to kill off ducks." Another farmer wants the privilege of doing it himself. This field diary proves to be a real transcription challenge because Wetmore's penciled notes are in some places both faint and smudged. Are you up to it? Join other stalwart #volunpeers in this effort.
100% Complete
175 Total pages
0 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore Papers, circa 1848-1983 and undated
Project Summary not available.
