Rock Creek Park Digital Earth Watch (DEW) Picture Post Phenology Wayside

The result of a National Park Service-George Mason University Climate Change Communication Internship, the wayside exhibit in Rock Creek Park link plants, forest structure, and bird populations (wood thrush) with climate. To tell Rock Creek’s climate story, the interns’ work focused on the wood thrush, the official bird of Washington, D.C. Interns researched why Rock Creek is an ideal habitat for the wood thrush by exploring the bird’s migratory patterns, preferred food sources, and habitat choice. ... The design of the wayside creates a connection between visitors and the park by giving a view of the landscape as it would be seen by the wood thrush. One aspect of this story is the parallel between the wood thrush’s annual migration to Nicaragua and the growing community of Latin American immigrants near Rock Creek National Park. ...Other components include citizen science opportunities at the park and links to other resources, such as the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. http://esp.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/ESP_Newsletter_Fall_2013.pdf