We’re redesigning: Come along for the ride!

On this blog, we will chronicle a major redesign of the Lab’s website, starting with the most popular section, All About Birds. You’ll start seeing the first site changes this fall, and periodic upgrades will continue over several years.

It’s been five years since our last site upgrade, so it’s about time for an overhaul. With more than 90 major topics and 500 pages, there’s a ton of information here. Regular visitors will have found a lot already – but have you ever come away wondering if you’d missed something? If you’re a new visitor, are you wondering where to start?

With our redesign, we’ll find new ways to put the information and features you want right at your fingertips – as well as up on your screen in vivid color, captivating video, and brilliant sound. We want to give you ways to stay in touch with other birders, learn about the latest in bird science and conservation, choose equipment – or just figure out what that little gray-brown bird hopping around your backyard is. (Hint: we’re thinking it’s a Dark-eyed Junco.)

There’s just one catch: We barely even know you. Nearly 3 million times per month you visit our site, but all we see are your footprints. We hope this blog will change that, by giving you a place to speak up. Remember: this redesign is for you, so don’t be shy about telling us how we can help you with your bird watching.

In coming posts, we’ll show you our ideas and ask what you think. For now, please feel free just to say hi, introduce yourself, or tell us a good bird story. To get things started, I’ll go first in the Comments section.