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Tag: eBird

KBO at Rogue Valley Bird Day Festival – Next Saturday May 11!

Spring is here and so are the birds at the Rogue Valley Bird Day festival at Ashland’s North Mountain Park! Join Klamath Bird Observatory biologists at a bird banding demonstration—one of the many family friendly activities planned. The City of Ashland Department of Parks and Recreation with many partners will host the Rogue Valley Bird Day festival Saturday May 11 from 8 am to 12 pm. The festival is our local celebration of World Migratory Bird Day and will feature expert-guided bird walks, The Big Sit feeder watch, thrilling programs featuring birds of prey by Wildlife Images Education Rehabilitation Center, our bird banding demonstration, and the ever-very-popular bird calling contest!

KBO will also present an interactive display and demonstration of eBird tools that help link community birders with conservation science. The display will highlight Community Science tools that allow all birders to contribute to local and international monitoring efforts and existing bird data from Bear Creek and North Mountain Park, which has undergone immense restoration over the past 20 years.

CLICK HERE for more information about Rogue Valley Bird Day.

The 2019 World Migratory Bird Day theme is “Protect Birds: Be the Solution to Plastic Pollution! Come and learn about the problems birds face from our world-wide plastic problem. And experience the bird migration right here in our beautiful Rogue Valley! Several walks through the park led by area birding experts will visit KBO’s bird banding demonstration. Biologists will share the captured wild birds up close before their release.

Each year, the World Migratory Bird Day advisory committee selects an artist to illustrate the annual conservation theme. Arnaldo Toledo Sotolongo, from Santa Clara, Cuba was selected to create the World Migratory Bird Day 2019 artwork. Arnaldo is a scientific illustrator, photographer and designer, and volunteers in conservation projects in his free time. His 2019 poster illustration tells a passionate though painfully tragic tale.

CLICK HERE to view the 2019 World Migratory Bird Day poster “Protect Birds: Be the Solution to Plastics Pollution”.

Now in its 29th year, World Migratory Bird Day has grown from a one-day event into a framework underpinning hundreds of projects and programs year-round. It is coordinated by Environment for the Americas, which provides multi-lingual educational materials and information about birds and bird conservation throughout the Americas. Their programs inspire children and adults to get outdoors, learn about birds, and take part in their conservation.

CLICK HERE for more information about World Migratory Bird Day and Environment of the Americas.

CLICK HERE to learn more about plastic pollution and how it is affecting birds.

 

October Global Big Day Results Are In!

And by the way, you might be asking how did Global Big Day in October go?

The goal was 5,000 species—and more than 6,000 were recorded on more than 37,000 eBird checklists in just one day! The Cornell Lab of Ornithology would like to thank every participant all over the world. This was the first October Global Big Day ever, and thanks to participation from around the world, more than 6,000 of the world’s 10,000 birds were watched that big, big day—congratulations to us all!

CLICK HERE to see a summary of the October 6, 2018 Global Big Day results.

Year of the Bird in May – It’s a Global Big Day!

It’s May in the Year of the Bird and our call to action is Global Big Day! Saturday May 5th is the day people all over the world will be watching birds and putting them on the world map via eBird.

What to do: Look for birds and report what you find at eBird.org in this exciting 24-hour quest to collectively record as many bird species as possible across the world.

How to do it: Watch birds on May 5th –any time from midnight to midnight in your local time zone. It’s that simple. You don’t need to be a bird expert, or go out all day long.
• Get an eBird account if you don’t already have one: eBird is a worldwide bird checklist program used by hundreds of thousands of birders. It’s what allows us to compile everyone’s sightings into a single massive Global Big Day list—while at the same time collecting the data for scientists to use to better understand birds. It’s free. Log your sightings on the eBird website or download the eBird app, for maximum ease-of-use.
• Watch the sightings roll in: During the day, keep an eye on how the lists are growing in different parts of the world. Follow along with sightings from more than 150 countries, including the Cornell Lab’s Team Sapsucker in Colombia, Honduras, and California. Stats will be updated in real-time on our Global Big Day page.

Pro Birder Tips for Big Day Success:
• Explore eBird Hotspots near you.
• Put your birding plans on the worldwide Global Big Day map.
• Get together with friends and set a goal for your birding—most unusual species? Biggest flock? All the species in your favorite family? The possibilities are endless.
• Take photos and add them to your checklist—they might end up on the Global Big Day page!

Why do it?
• Put your birds on the map! Your sightings become part of a global snapshot that helps track the numbers, health, and movements of birds for scientists and conservationists.
• It helps other birders: your data feeds migration forecasts, species checklists, and hotspot maps that are free for all.
• 20,000 bird watchers around the world will be on a 24-hour birding binge; count yourself in their ranks.
• In 2017, bird watchers recorded an incredible 65% of all the bird species on the planet. Can we set a new record?

CLICK HERE to learn more about Global Big Day and eBird.

And don’t miss World Migratory Bird Day! There are 1,200 events happening around the world in 200 cities on Saturday May 12, including two KBO is part of—Rogue Valley Bird Day and the Global Migratory Bird Day Birdwatching Field Trip in Shasta Valley Wildlife Area.

CLICK HERE to view the Rogue Valley Bird Day 2018 flyer.

CLICK HERE to view the Shasta Valley Birdwatching Field Trip 2018 flyer.

Of course the invaluable citizen science wonder that is eBird is bigger than Global Big Day—watch the birds any day and let your observations add to our body of knowledge, empowering bird conservation science through eBird. Every bird counts so count all your birds!

Citizen Science Opportunity for Fall Migration

Looking for a new place to bird during fall migration? Klamath Bird Observatory and The Selberg Institute are continuing a yearlong citizen science project on the beautiful Sampson Creek Preserve just east of Ashland and, are looking for volunteers to help monitor during fall migration. This project offers something for all birders and outdoor enthusiasts.

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Upcoming Talk and Walk Classes

Sorry!  All the Spring 2016 Talk and Walk Classes are Sold Out!  Please Stay Tuned for Upcoming Summer and Fall Classes.

Klamath Bird Observatory’s popular Talk and Walk classes continue through the winter and into Spring. The Talks are held on Thursday evenings (except for the Jacksonville Woodlands class) at the KBO headquarters in Ashland and the Walk is held on the following Saturdays. To register contact Shannon Rio by eMail (shannonrio[AT]aol.com) — the registration fee is $25 for each class. Don’t miss these fun and informative adventures in birding!

 

WINTER BIRDS OF THE ROGUE VALLEY

Great Gray Owl (c) 2016 Jim Lividais

Talk
Thursday MAY 5, 2016 6:30PM-8PM
Presented by Shannon Rio (KBO Board President)
KBO headquarters, Lincoln School, 320 Beach Street, Ashland, Oregon
Walk
Saturday MAY 7, 2016 2PM-6PM
Led by Lee French (Rogue Valley birding expert)
Outing is an afternoon in search of the Great Gray Owl upon the Cascades Plateau east of Ashland.

 

 

The TALK AND WALK classes offer a great chance to learn about birds, go on an outing with a bird guide expert, and visit Klamath Bird Observatory’s current headquarters. This workplace is offered to KBO through a partnership with the Ashland School district and provides our scientists and educators a space to work, collating our findings, applying for grants, and dreaming about how to study and protect birds and their habitats. Part of our dream is to someday have a new home — a place to continue our work and hopefully a site for banding, for educating, and for furthering conservation.

2015 Mountain Bird Festival May 29-31

2015 Mountain Bird Festival: Citizens and Science Elevating Bird Conservation

OfficialArtwork_2014MountainBirdFestival_GaryBloomfield

The 2014 Mountain Bird Festival was a huge success.  All attendees served as bird conservationists by helping raise over $10,000 in support of local and national conservation efforts and the science that drives that conservation. Participants flocked from all over the U.S. to bird the Klamath-Siskiyou Bioregion of southern Oregon and northern California. 171 bird species were seen by festival participants, including mountain and pacific northwest specialties such as White-headed Woodpecker, Spotted Owl, Calliope Hummingbird, Mountain Bluebird, and of course, the Great Gray Owl. Additionally, over 90 species of wildflowers were seen in bloom, as well as 21 species of dragonflies and damselflies seen zipping through the region’s diverse habitats. All data from field trips were entered into eBird Northwest, which contributes to our understanding of bird distribution and habitat use. All festival attendees purchased a Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp (a.k.a. the Duck Stamp) with their registration, contributing to wetland restoration and conservation throughout the United States; attendees also purchased a Conservation Science Stamp, supporting Klamath Bird Observatory‘s worldwide efforts to advance bird and habitat conservation through science, education, and partnerships.

This 2015 Conservation Science Stamp will feature the stunning White-headed Woodpecker!

The 2015 Mountain Bird Festival will offer guided bird walks, fine art galleries, local wine, microbrew, and food vendors, and a feel-good community atmosphere.  This year’s keynote speaker will be Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s International eBird project leader, Brian Sullivan. Brian will show us how eBird and its state of the art technologies are revolutionizing birding, making this popular recreation a powerful conservation science activity.

Festival registration includes half-day or full-day field trips offered on both Saturday and Sunday.

Festival goers will have the opportunity to enjoy all that is offered by the town of Ashland, Oregon. See a play at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, stroll through town to visit a variety of shops and galleries, get a massage, or enjoy a meal at one of Ashland’s many restaurants that feature local foods. We look forward to seeing you at the 2015 Mountain Bird Festival.

The Klamath Bird Observatory is grateful for your support and dedication.  Don’t forget to tell your friends about this great opportunity to see wonderful birds and contribute to their conservation while at it!

2015 Mountain Bird Festival Registration Opens February 11

OfficialArtwork_2014MountainBirdFestival_GaryBloomfield

*** PRESS RELEASE***

The award winning Mountain Bird Festival is back, celebrating the natural wonders of southern Oregon and northern California. The 2015 Mountain Bird Festival will be held in Ashland, Oregon from May 29th-31st. Registration for the Festival will be available on the Klamath Bird Observatory website at www.klamathbird.org. The Mountain Bird Festival offers guided bird walks, a keynote presentation, fine art galleries, local wine, microbrew, and food vendors, and a feel-good community atmosphere. Registration includes half-day or full-day field trips offered on both Saturday and Sunday.

The 2015 Mountain Bird Festival combines a celebration of the Klamath-Siskiyou Bioregion’s spectacular mountain birds and the stewardship ethic needed to ensure thriving landscapes for humans and wildlife. Every citizen who participates in the Festival helps to advance bird and habitat conservation in multiple ways. They contribute to habitat protection through the purchase of a Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp (a.k.a. the Duck Stamp), thereby supporting one of the most successful conservation programs in the United States. Festival attendees also purchase a Conservation Science Stamp with proceeds supporting Klamath Bird Observatory’s regional science and education programs aimed at achieving sustainable natural resource management. Additionally, every Festival goer serves as a citizen scientist contributing field trip bird sightings to eBird Northwest, a rapidly growing database that advances our knowledge about birds and their habitats.

This year’s Mountain Bird Festival features a keynote presentation by Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s International eBird project leader, Brian Sullivan. Brian will show us how eBird and its state of the art technologies are revolutionizing birding, making this popular recreation a powerful conservation science activity.

The Klamath-Siskiyou Bioregion of southern Oregon and northern California is one of the most biologically diverse regions in the world, an absolute must-see for birders and naturalists. The 2015 Mountain Bird Festival offers guided bird walks to some of the most beautiful and diverse landscapes of the region. Field trips will target highly sought after mountain birds of the Cascade, Siskiyou, and Klamath Mountains, as well as Klamath Basin specialties. Target birds include Mountain Quail, nesting Sandhill Cranes, dancing Western and Clark’s Grebes, Black Terns, Great Gray Owls, Calliope Hummingbirds, and the bird that will be featured on this year’s Conservation Science Stamp, the White-headed Woodpecker.

The Mountain Bird Festival has received national awards for becoming one of our nation’s leading conservation events. Please join us for the 2015 Mountain Bird Festival and become part of our efforts to elevate bird conservation.

Click here to view a a copy of the press release announcing the 2015 Mountain Bird Festival.