To continue the theme of alliteration that began with “Friday Flora,” starting today, and each subsequent second day of the standard work week, we will feature a “Tuesday Tweet” that profiles anything and everything ornithological. Bird observation checklists, bird banding records, detailed images of birds – you name it, the archival collection of the Bell Museum of Natural History has got it.

Just last month, dedicated students started scanning the glass plate negatives from the Bell Museum collection. Housed in the “film vault” in the caverns deep beneath Andersen Library, the negatives (over 6,000 in count) are stored in their original envelopes in cabinet drawers. After scanning, the fragile plates will be re-housed in enclosures that provide a better means of storage for long term preservation.

Though we have scanned over 600 negatives already, we still have thousands to go. Here are a few images that Digital Library Services staff shared:

– Young coots and grebes, Heron Lake

– Song sparrows nest (5 eggs)

[Much, much, MUCH more to come on glass plate negatives… ]