bird conservation news

Bird conservation news from the Bird Conservation Alliance is available here.

some recent research papers in ornithology

From the journal Avian Conservation and Ecology, see the most recent (Vol. 6, Iss. 2) papers linked here.

more on kestrels

Am. Kestrel BBS Trend, Boreal Hardwood Transition

Am. Kestrel - photo by Robert Burton - USFWS National Digital Library

With the recent discussion of kestrels in WI, you all may want to see some additional information. In some parts of North America, kestrels are in decline.  As a result, The Peregrine Fund is starting a new conservation effort. See more about it at this link. See BBS trend results at left. The Western Great Lakes Bird and Bat Observatory plans to partner on this project in 2012 - more info to come...

Great Backyard Bird Count 2012, (and results from '11)

If you have not previously participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count (scheduled for Feb 17-20 this year), you can learn about it here. And what is it, anyway?  See more details about the count at this link -and read about the results from 2011, at this page. See Wisconsin's results, with maps. 

Last year's results for Snowy Owl, for example, are likely to be easily surpassed this year:

State/Province	Number of Birds	Number of Checklists Reporting the Species
Alberta	3	3
Manitoba	7	5
Michigan	4	4
New York	1	1
North Dakota	2	2
Ontario	1	1
Pennsylvania	1	1
Saskatchewan	44	12
Vermont	1	1
Wisconsin	2	2
Total	66

BirdVoices and much more

If you're new (or maybe not-so-new) to birding, you should know about these resources:

Todd Wilson has an excellent blog devoted to the bird song recordings he has made - it's called Bird Voices, and you can find it here.

Of course we also have the great work done here in WI by John Feith; see the audio links at the WBBA site at this link.

If you want to range outside our borders in terms of song and bird sounds, many experienced birders know about Xeno-Canto - see it here. And Cornell's All About Birds song pages are linked here.

learn about (and join) SEWISC

SEWISC is the Southeastern Wisconsin Invasive Species Consortium, Inc.- It is a "broad-based coalition that promotes efficient and effective management of invasive species throughout Kenosha, Ozaukee, Milwaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha Counties". Invasive species have a powerful and negative influence on native wildlife. Learn more about SEWISC at their website.

from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center

Summaries of the Center's output on migratory birds from recent months can be found at this page.