Help Save Migratory Birds with a Donation Today!

Migratory birds connect us all. As these remarkable travelers navigate migration routes throughout the globe, they connect people across countries, cultures, and even hemispheres.

Alarmingly, many migratory birds are in decline, a clear signal of the worsening health of the ecological systems that support life on earth. Western forest birds have declined 20% over the past 46 years. Many well-known birds that inhabit the Pacific Northwest are in steep decline, including Black Tern, Common Nighthawk, Bank Swallow, Horned Lark, and Varied Thrush.

In order to start to reverse these declines, Klamath Bird Observatory has launched an online crowdfunding campaign with the goal of raising $18,800 in 60 days. These funds will help us continue to build a dedicated community of conservationists who apply KBO’s successful, science-based model throughout the world.

Your donation will provide an early-career conservation science intern with living stipend, housing, equipment and learning tools, mentor support, and transportation during the field season.  Please contribute, in any amount, to this important program today!

Through your generosity, we can continue to strengthen the safety net for migratory birds. Together, we can keep aloft the miraculous migratory birds that delight us, inspire us, connect us together, and serve as an accurate measure of the health of our land, air, and waters.

A History of Success

Klamath Bird Observatory’s illustrious training program has graduated over 170 bird monitoring interns from 18 different countries, including Argentina, Australia, Belize, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Holland, Hungary, Jamaica, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, United Kingdom, and the United States. Our trainees include both early-career interns and those coming to KBO with significant life experience.  Many of these individuals have gone on to develop conservation capacity in areas where it is needed most, and/or achieve advanced degrees in biology, ecology, and conservation. For example:

• Luis Morales of Mexico interned with Klamath Bird Observatory in 2012. At that time he was laying the foundation for a new bird observatory in his native San Pancho, Nayarit, located on the Pacific coast of Mexico. The San Pancho Bird Observatory is now a healthy and growing organization advancing bird conservation and education in western Mexico, where many of our nesting songbirds spend their winters.
• Mauricio Lewis and Diego Garcia of Peru, and Andres Henao and Miguel Moreno of Colombia, all became certified by the North America Banding Council as expert bird banders and banding trainers during their KBO internships. Each of them now sponsors and participates in training workshops held throughout Mexico and Central and South America, reaching dozens of new students and potential conservationists each year.
• Carl Fitzjames, a community leader from Brasso Secco in Trinidad and Tobago, participated in the KBO internship program and then returned to his home as one of the few certified bird banders in his country. Carl now works with the University of the West Indies and others to support applied research studies being implemented by professors and graduate students. Such studies are increasing the awareness and protection of wetlands that are important for resident and migratory birds. Carl has also worked with the US Embassy to present education programs for small communities and school groups.

These former Klamath Bird Observatory student-interns embody the leadership qualities of our interns and demonstrate the sustained and far-reaching influence of KBO’s international capacity building and training programs.

Please help us strengthen this essential conservation training program with a donation today!  Contribute to our Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign by clicking here.

Also, Please Help Us Spread the Word

Please help us spread the word about this campaign by sharing this blog with your friends, family, and colleagues through social media and direct eMail. Thanks for your commitment to birds and our beautiful planet!