The Squirrel Census (https://www.thesquirrelcensus.com/) is a multimedia science, design, and storytelling project focusing on the Eastern gray (Sciurus carolinensis). They count squirrels and present their findings to the public. This table contains stories, observations, and notes written on tally sheets by Squirrel Sighters during the Census. Individual stories have been tagged with common story themes, such as “squirrel experience,” “park experience,” “dogs,” “other animals,” “accidental poems,” and “squirrels acting odd.”
This dataset has the following 12 columns:
| Column Name | API Column Name | Data Type | Description | Sample Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hectare | hectare | text | ID tag, which is derived from the hectare grid used to divide and count the park area. One axis that runs predominantly north-to-south is numerical (1-42), and the axis that runs predominantly east-to-west | 29B 29D 37B 28B 31C view top 100 |
| Shift | shift | text | Value is either "AM" or "PM," to communicate whether the sighting session occurred in the morning or late afternoon. | PM AM view top 100 |
| Date | date | text | Concatenation of the sighting session month, day, and year (MMDDYYYY). | 10132018 10072018 10202018 10142018 10192018 view top 100 |
| Note Squirrel & Park Stories | note_squirrel_park_stories | text | Copy notated by sighter while observing hectare | #NAME? Many people in the area, particularly because a run was taking place. Also, many dogs, including at least four off leash, were in the area. Kept returning to the spot marked with asterisk (a lawn,) thinking at least one squirrel would be there, but found none. * Car accident on transverse with police sirens, so may have scared squirrels from path Also, a homeless man sitting against fence making noises! * Around 10 dogs off leash around center of hectare. (1) small hawk attempted to grab squirrel from ground near base of tree -Remained on ground making kuks & quaas for 30 seconds --> ran up tree -- stopped on branch for several minutes - unmoving (2) foraging between trees in fenced in area I know they're not conducive to squirrel sighting, but I love how many dogs are off leash, walking around like they're the best party host, greeting everyone like the stars that they are. 8:59 a.m.: I was chosen by one to give it a pet! What looks like a Breast Cancer Awareness March is coming through — lots of chanting and cheering! (The cheers I heard were actual cheerleaders.) Squirrels #2 and #3 were near a nest! (Wasn't sure which made the kuks so marked both.) view top 100 |
| Story Topic: Squirrel Experience or Squirrel Story | story_topic_squirrel | checkbox | This tag indicates sighter wrote down story that dealt primarily with squirrels and their experience of the park. | true view top 100 |
| Story Topic: Park Experience or Census Taker Story | story_topic_park_experience | checkbox | This tag indicates sighter (or “Census taker”) wrote down story about other park goer(s) or their own experience in the park. | true view top 100 |
| Story Topic: Dogs | story_topic_dogs | checkbox | This tag indicates sighter noted story about dogs they observed. | true view top 100 |
| Story Topic: Other Animals | story_topic_other_animals | checkbox | This tag indicates sighter noted observations about other animals in the park. | true view top 100 |
| Story Topic: Accidental Poems | story_topic_accidental_poems | checkbox | This tag indicates a note from sighter that read, to the Census team, like short poems about the park. | true view top 100 |
| Story Topic: Squirrels Acting Odd | story_topic_squirrels_acting | checkbox | This tag indicates a note from sighter about squirrels that read, to the Census team, as odd or unusual squirrel behavior. | true view top 100 |
| Story Topic: Census Takers Recognized | story_topic_census_takers | checkbox | This tag indicates a sighter (or “Census taker”) recorded a story about being recognized as part of the Central Park Squirrel Census by other park goer(s). | true view top 100 |
| Story Topic: Other | story_topic_other | text | Random, uncategorized stories were filed here. | Birds Cyclists Birdwatchers Horses Bicyclists view top 100 |