Integrated Waterbird Management and Monitoring Waterbirds that migrate long distances between wintering and breeding destinations present a complex challenge to wetland managers. These birds use a wide range of sites during their annual cycle. Therefore managers must carefully consider a number of questions: Which species should a manager focus on at a specific site? How [...]
Ed. Note: Three-day migration forecasts on BirdCast will resume on 1 August, just in time for the start of the fall migration season. Weather radar stations across the continental United States may have predicted "April showers" for some this spring, but for the first time, new maps used radar to forecast and track in near-real [...]
When I first began working on water and habitat issues in California a decade ago, it seemed counter-intuitive to me to seek partnerships with farmers and hunters, as I naively assumed we wouldn’t share values and priorities. Fortunately, I had some veteran California conservationists as mentors, and they taught me just how aligned our purposes [...]
We often hear about the importance of migratory bird programs that build capacity internationally for shared species conservation. But what exactly does that mean, and how does one measure the success of such efforts? The Park Flight Migratory Bird Program was created with the vision of connecting U.S. national parks and partners in the United [...]
Technology, it seems, infiltrates all of our lives at a rapidly increasing rate. This is also true of bird conservation, as we often look to technology to ease difficulties encountered in field studies or long-term monitoring that we have been unable to overcome in any other way. I am most familiar with the marine environment, [...]
Without winter flooded ricelands, we will be unable to meet the goals of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. For Ducks Unlimited, it’s that simple and that important. Ricelands provide habitat for millions of migratory birds across the country. From California to the Gulf Coast and the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, ricelands overlap perfectly with [...]
You’ve likely read that news that many bird populations are in trouble. The State of North America's Birds 2016 report indicated that one third of North American bird species need urgent conservation action. The problem may be especially acute for Neotropical migratory birds (nearly half of all U.S. species) – those that breed in North America and [...]
I think we all consider the person or persons who pointed us in the direction of conservation and gave us the knowledge we needed to make a difference as some of the most important people in our lives. For me, Bob Singleton is one of the greatest influences in my professional life. He taught me [...]
Increasingly, there have been calls within the bird conservation community to integrate human dimensions (HD) research into conservation efforts to improve outcomes. However, you may be asking yourself, what exactly is human dimensions and why should bird conservation professionals care about it? To start, human dimensions is a field of study that applies the social [...]
Birders represent a large segment of non-consumptive wildlife viewers in the U.S. and elsewhere. According to a 2011 study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, more than 46 million Americans participate in birdwatching either around or away from the home. Governmental agencies and various birding and bird conservation groups are collaborating through NABCI and [...]
