Our resident bird watcher and wildlife photographer, Nina, captured this gorgeous shot of a Tree Swallow taking up residence in a birdhouse we built at Stonehurst. He's just one of many birds we've spotted on the property.On May 9, 2015, the team at The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is calling on bird lovers around the world to spend some time birding and then recording their findings in eBird--making it truly a "Global Big Day." eBird is as global tool for birders, providing critical data for science. With eBird you can record the birds you see, keep track of your bird lists, explore dynamic maps and graphs, share your sightings, join the eBird community and make a positive contribution to science and conservation.
What is a "Global Big Day"?
According to the American Birding Association, A Big Day Count is a single-team effort in which the primary objectives are (1) to identify as many bird species as possible during a single calendar day and (2) to strive to have all team members identify all species recorded.
What your support means:
Your support will help ensure that the Cornell Lab can continue to advance bird conservation, including:
• The eBird project and the scientific data it produces to make smart land management decisions that benefit birds in your region and across the world;
• On-the-ground research and conservation across the full life-cycle of birds as they cross hemispheres between nesting grounds and wintering habitats;
• Powerful opportunities that inspire people of all ages to learn about and protect birds, including the BirdSleuth K-12 curriculum in the U.S. and Latin America; live Bird Cams; webinars with experts; free Merlin Bird ID app, and a wealth of information on the All About Birds website.
A purple finch enjoys his lunch outside of the Marketing office.Why you should help:
Pledge For Passion: By helping to protect birds, you'll protect the natural places needed for the health of our planet, people, and wildlife.
Conservation: Your gift makes possible on-the-ground conservation programs to protect birds such as Cerulean Warblers, Golden-winged Warblers, and other long-distance migrants.
Research: You'll enable the best research scientists to inform conservation management and policy to help birds and protect nature.
Motivation: Every cent you pledge motivates the top birders in the world to find every possible bird species in 24 hours to raise funds for conservation.
Education: Your support also funds conservation through education--such as conservation workshops for Latin American biologists and training for undergraduates, giving them the skills they need to make a difference.
Citizen Science: You'll help engage the most active corps of conservation-minded citizen scientists in collecting millions of records needed to monitor and protect birds.
Web tools: The Lab reaches out to hundreds of thousands of people, promoting conservation though our All About Birds website, eBird citizen-science project, online NestCams, and much more.
Efficiency: The Cornell Lab of Ornithology receives only 1% of its funding from Cornell University. Friends and members make their work possible.
How to get started:
The first thing you should do is register for eBird, so on May 9th you will be all set to post your bird observations! Then you should clear out a time in your day on May 9th to get outside and get spotting! If you can't get outside this Saturday, you can still help contribute to Global Big Day by making a donation to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology!
