Who's hooting? Motivations and scientific attitudes of manitoban citizen science owl surveyors

Citizen science is gaining popularity as a means for all persons to participate in and contribute to scientific projects, and can increase our understanding of avian conservation and ecology by facilitating the collection of more data. Understanding the type of person who participates in citizen science projects, including their motivations, behaviors, and gains, allows researchers to better recruit and retain participants and to design enjoyable and educational projects with direct and indirect benefits to conservation and science. We surveyed participants of the Manitoba Nocturnal Owl Survey, an ongoing 25-year-old citizen science project, to evaluate how and why people participated and to determine their relationship with science and ecology. The interpersonal dimensions of surveying was important at all stages of participation, affecting recruitment, participation, and reasons for leaving. Being in nature and encountering wildlife was often cited as the most important aspect of the actual surveying experience, though many respondents also reported they enjoyed experiencing nature socially. Educational opportunity was rarely cited as a motivation, although gaining knowledge was the most common reported benefit. Respondents were highly educated, and concerned about a variety of environmental and conservation issues. The majority of respondents had participated in multiple citizen science projects. Marketing citizen science projects as social learning opportunities embedded in nature may help attract and retain more volunteers, ensuring long-term sustainability of programs while engaging new participants in activities that increase their ecological knowledge and awareness.