of Reverend Elisha Woodbridge Cook and Martha Miranda (Smith) Cook, was born on January 25, 1858, in Haydenville, Massachusetts. The 5th of nine children and eldest boy, Cooke developed an interest in natural history at the age of 12, when he received his first gun. He was known to collect bird specimens from his neighborhood and surrounding area. Cooke went on to receive an A.B. and A.M. degree from Ripon College. After his marriage to Carrie Amy Raymond in 1879, Cooke became a teacher in Indian schools and secondary schools in Minnesota. It was here, in Minnesota, that Cooke first began documenting arrival dates and began what is now the BPP. Notably, Wells Cooke, became a member of the newly formed American Ornithologists' Union in 1884, elected in part due to papers he published while teaching in the Mississippi Valley. In 1885, Cooke became a Professor, and over a 16-year period was associated with three colleges: the University of Vermont, the Agricultural College of Colorado, and the state College of Pennsylvania. Cooke also began an appointment with the Biological Survey in the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1901 which lasted for 15 years, in which he published many publications on bird migration and distribution. Wells W. Cooke contributed in countless ways to the field of ornithology. He was the most eminent biologist on bird migration and distribution of his time. Chandler Robbins Chandler "Chan" Robbins was one of the last coordinators of the BPP before it stopped accepting migration records in 1970. He is a lifelong birder and casts a long shadow in the birding world. In an interview conducted by Sam Droege, Chan talks about the history of the BPP, how it began, who ran the program and why it came to a close. Migration Cards BPP Office The Bird Phenology Program office is located at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland. References Ornithological equipment and methods Ornithological citizen science