Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why isn’t there an “I don’t know” or “unidentifiable” button?
2. What do I do if I cannot identify the animal from the video?
3. Why do some videos contain no animals?
4. What do I do if there are animals of different species present in the video?
5. What if I see an animal that is not on your list?
6. What should I do if animals of the same species are displaying different behaviors?
7. What if I’m not sure how many animals are in a video?
8. Do animals need to be in the video at the same time to be counted?
9. If I make a mistake, can I return to the video to correct it?
10. When should I use hashtags?
11. Can I see how many videos I have classified?
12. What if I see something in a video that I want to tell the scientists about?
13. What will this information be used for?
14. Can I share videos from Woodpecker Cavity Cam?
15. How can I discuss a video with others?
16. Why can't I see all three workflows?
17. Where is the blog? What's on it?
18. How can I ask a question that’s not in this FAQ?

1. Why isn’t there an “I don’t know” or “unidentifiable” button?

Even though it may seem counter-intuitive at first, a guess can convey a lot of information, especially when analyzed in conjunction with the guesses made by others who are presented with the same image to classify. Each video in Woodpecker Cavity Cam is shown to multiple people. If those people don’t agree, the video is shown to even more people. Showing the video to lots of people usually gives us enough information to come to a right answer. Even if people guess different species, we may still get information about the size of the animal. For example, consider an image that contained one blurry, vague animal. People identify that image as a nuthatch, a red-headed woodpecker and a house wren. Even though the classifications are all over the place, all of them are of small songbirds so we know there is a bird on the pictured tree. This helps our research team make a final definitive classification, and is far more useful than marking the image as "Nothing here". When we don’t have an "I don’t know" button, people give us some information about the image, and that information allows us to figure out each image faster – even the difficult ones. There's an excellent explanation with photo examples here on the Snapshot Serengeti blog!

2. What do I do if I cannot identify the animal from the video?

We realize that some images are too vague or blurry to identify, especially when a critter is moving quickly at night. However, try your best to identify the animal! By narrowing down the options and making a guess, you are still providing us with some information about the animal. Even if you're not 100% sure, don't try to bypass the image by marking it as "Nothing here"! As mentioned above, each video in Woodpecker Cavity Cam is shown to multiple people. If those people give different response, we show the video to even more people. If there’s still not a clear indication about what animal it is, we can record it as having a low confidence score and flag it for a scientist to review. There's an excellent explanation with photo examples here on the Snapshot Serengeti blog!

3. Why do some videos contain no animals?

The cameras that we use are triggered by heat and motion. When the sensors detect a rapid change in movement or surface temperatures in the detection zone, the camera is triggered. So, when grass or tree branches blow in the camera’s view, they result in sequences of “empty” videos. We try to weed these videos out in our “Animal or Not?” workflow but some still make it through! While these “empty” videos can be frustrating when you want to see animals, we appreciate your effort in classifying them as “Nothing here”. This allows us to filter out “empty” images and focus on the animals of interest.

4. What do I do if there are animals of different species present in the video?

First, identify one of the animals. After you have clicked the “Identify” button, you will be taken back to the classification screen. There, you can identify the other animal. If the two animals belong to different species, but are listed under a broad category such as “Weasel” or “Small Mammal”, you only need to identify the animals once. When you are finished identifying all of the animals in the video, click the “Next” button at the bottom.

5. What if I see an animal that is not on your list?

If you think you see an animal that is not an option, first double-check the list. Sometimes, the animal may fall into a broad category, such as “Small Mammal”, “Raptor” or “Weasel”. After you have double-checked the list, select the best or closest identification that you can. When you have finished identifying the video, click the “Talk” button and tag the video with the hashtag #new-animal and the species that you think it is. We regularly check the “Talk” section of the website and we will record the correct species when we see this hashtag.

6. What should I do if animals of the same species are displaying different behaviors?

On the classification screen, you can and should select ALL behaviors that animals of the identified species are displaying in the video. You do not need to complete separate classifications for animals of the same species exhibiting different behaviors.

7. What if I’m not sure how many animals are in a video?

Record the number of individuals of each type of animal as best you can. Your best guesses contribute to a collection of responses that lead us to the right answer. Since every video is seen by multiple volunteers, any mistakes will get outweighed by a larger number of correct answers.

8. Do animals need to be in the video at the same time to be counted?

No, you should try to record the number of animals present in the ‘capture event’ - the entire video. So, if you see one woodpecker sticking its head in and out of the cavity, then a second woodpecker flying in and landing on the tree, you would record two woodpeckers.

9. If I make a mistake, can I return to the video to correct it?

No, you cannot return to a video to correct a mistake, but do not worry about it! Your best guesses contribute to a collection of responses that lead us to the right answer. Since every video is seen by multiple volunteers, any mistakes or misidentifications will eventually be outweighed by a larger number of correct answers.

10. When should I use hashtags?

A hashtag can be a powerful tool in terms of searching for related content on social media. Here at Woodpecker Cavity Cam, hashtags are a useful way to find unusual sightings and to search for videos of specific species. Having said that, used wrongly or overly zealously hashtags can become a nightmare for our research team!

If you are not 100% sure of the identification of an animal, then don’t hashtag it. You can still flag the video for discussion where moderators will hashtag it if deemed necessary. It is not necessary to hashtag every video you flag for discussion. Try and be selective and choose unusual video or those with some scientific relevance. Think what might be useful to the scientists or other citizen scientist classifiers. If you added a hashtag that turned out to be incorrect, please click on the edit button below the comment to delete the # symbol.

Use a hashtag when you discover something rare or unusual. Hashtag videos you think are particularly impressive in terms of quality or content. These videos can be used by our scientists in research and in promotional or educational material!

The main message here is to think before you hashtag. Why am I tagging this? Does it really warrant it? Use them sparingly. If in doubt, leave it out. There are more tips, tricks and rationale about hashtagging in this blog post from Cedar Creek: Eyes on the Wild.

11. Can I see how many videos I have classified?

Yes, you can!
i. Use your Woodpecker Cavity Cam log-in information to sign-in to Zooniverse.
ii. Click on your user name in the upper right hand corner and select "My Profile".
iii. Select the tab “Your Stats”. This will show you all of the classifications that you have done for Woodpecker Cavity Cam and any other Zooniverse projects that you have participated in.

12. What if I see something in a video that I want to tell the scientists about?

If you see an animal with injuries, displaying interesting behaviors, or something else notable, you can share those videos with our research team on the discussion boards. To do so, click on the “Done and Talk” option and add a comment to the video. If possible, add a hashtag that will make it easier to search by keyword, such as #injury or #radiocollar. We can use the information that you provide to identify individuals and study behavior.

13. What will this information be used for?

Visit our "Research" tab to learn more about the goals of the overall project and specific research initiatives! You can also learn more about what each of our scientists are up to by going to their personal web pages, which can be accessed on the "Team" tab.

14. Can I share videos from Woodpecker Cavity Cam?

Yes! These videos are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/deed.en_US), so they can be used for non-commercial purposes. Be sure to ascribe credit for the videos you are sharing to “Red-headed Woodpecker Recovery Project: Woodpecker Cavity Cam”. You should also mention the Creative Commons license, so that the people you share with know how they can share it, too.

15. How can I discuss a video with others?

When you have finished classifying the video, you can click the “Done and Talk” button. This will direct you to a Talk page where you can can add hashtags to the video, add it to your collection, "favorite" the video, or ask a question about it.

16. Why can't I see all three workflows?

Although Woodpecker Cavity Cams has three different "tasks" for volunteers - Animal or Not?, Cavity Visitors, and Woodpecker Days and Nights - not all workflows are active at all times. Some tasks are more involved than others, and it takes longer to run our images through them. We try our best to keep images active in at least one workflow, but sometimes the volunteers are more efficient than we are and we run out entirely! You can tell which workflows are currently active by looking in the center of the homepage under the words 'Get Started' for the labeled workflow buttons. You also also learn more about three workflows in the bottom section of our project's About page! Your classifications on ANY workflow make a huge difference to our work!

17. Where is the blog? What's on it?

Our project blog can be found at rhworesearch.org. Our research postdoc, Dr. Elena West, updates it occasionally to share insight into the project! Time permitting, we answer common questions raised by volunteers in greater depth than is possible on the Talk boards, share new research insights and developments, give a glimpse into the internal workings of the project, provide additional resources and information about specific species, and highlight the stories of citizen scientists with us. We encourage you to subscribe to it to stay in touch with the latest happenings!

18. How can I ask a question that’s not in this FAQ?

Start by clicking “Talk” at the top of the page. On the various labeled Talk Boards, you can search through questions asked by other citizen scientists. If you don’t find the answer you are looking for, click the appropriate board (e.g. “Questions for the Research Team” or “Technical Support”) and start a new discussion. Our scientists check the forums regularly and answer as many questions as we can. Experienced Zooniverse volunteers also participate in these discussions and offer great advice!