C-Notes #13 – Shopping for Bird Conservation
February 6, 2010
Article in: Bird Conservation
Kroger Community Rewards Program – Kroger Stores are donating dollars to nonprofit organizations and one group has joined up to help bird conservation. The Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO) in Oak Harbor, Ohio is part of the rewards programs and urges local shoppers to sign up via a simple online process. Each time a signed up member swipes their Kroger card, the BSBO automatically earns a rebate. Easy, breezy conservation dollars.
Less in the Landfill – A lot of direct mail advertising ends up in the landfill. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has a few tips on how to reduce your junk mail. On of those ways is through a free service called Direct Mail Marketing. This takes you off lists by category or all at once.
JUNK MAIL creates four million tons of preventable waste each year. The enormous waste generated by junk mail has a big negative impact. This junk…
* Costs taxpayers $320 million in disposal fees annually.
* Destroys 62 million trees a year.
* Creates 28 billion gallons of wastewater per year.
* Fills 3% of America’s landfills.
* 44% percent is unopened, unread and trashed.
—Ohio Department of Natural Resources
C-Notes #12 – Great Reasons to eBird
March 12, 2009
Article in: Bird Conservation
eBird’s work on engaging thousands of birders to collect data on bird abundance and species is ever growing for the better. Here are a few things to check out while deciding to join eBird and join the Citizen Science crew in bird conservation:
- Jack Siler’s eBird Rarity Map – This map shows rare bird sightings by area. Each pin marks a different bird sighting showing the name of the species, the location, the time, the person who reported the sighting and the ABA difficulty level. A great way to map out where and when rare birds are seen and reported.
- eBird’s Photo Pool – eBird’s now got a group on flickr for rare bird photos from sightings reported on eBird! Their goal is to collect the documented observations of rare birds and share them with others.
eBird’s site is very explanatory and helpful. It is easy to read and has many interesting articles. Many of these articles can help a new user such as Are you really making Casual Observations? which discusses the ways a user can submit their observations.
If you love birds and eBird is new to you, they are more than worth checking out. If you are a long-term eBird user, keep up the good fight!
C-Notes #11 – Bird Video Resources
February 3, 2009
Article in: Bird Conservation
Bird Cinema – Collecting and sharing bird videos, Bird Cinema brings viewers and videographers together to share and comment on bird videos. The site began in July of 2007. It has really grown and is a good place to find videos of many different species.
The Internet Bird Collection – 29523 videos of 5615 bird species can be found in the Internet Bird Collection and more are being added daily. They are also gathering a large collection of bird photos. The Internet Bird Collection is the largest video resource for birds out there and can consume a considerable amount of time, viewer beware!
C-Notes #10 – Photoblogs
January 31, 2009
Article in: Bird Conservation
CD 1000 Project – photoblog – Clay Taylor of Swarovski Optik has a photo blog and a quest to digiscope a thousand species of birds and other creatures. Called the CD 1000 Project, he has reached 55 species so far, mainly birds. His photos are an excellent promotion of nature’s beauty.
Birdfreak’s Nature, Photography and Art photoblog – In December, the Birdfreaks decided to create a sister blog dedicated to the beauty of nature called Nature, Photography and Art. By working on our own drawings, photos and ideas we are making an attempt to showcase how wonderful the natural world is and perhaps promote the urge to conserve it.
Virtua Gallery – A Photographic Journal – Klaus, a Graphic and Web Designer, has a great photoblog called Virtua Gallery that is full of inspiring photography. From birds and sky to frogs and lakes, it is well worth a daily check.
C-Notes #9 – Restoring the Everglades and South American Grasslands
December 16, 2008
Article in: Bird Conservation
Everglade Restoration – The state of Florida will be buying 187,000 acres of the Everglades owned by the U.S. Sugar Corporation. The Everglades is a World Heritage Site, an International Biosphere Reserve and an American Bird Conservancy-designated Globally Important Bird Area.
“Governor [Charlie] Crist deserves an enormous amount of praise…for this announcement,” said Kirk Fordham, CEO of the Everglades Foundation. “Today, he cemented his legacy as the Everglades Governor…a policy maker who saved an ecosystem for generations to come.”
Saving South American Grasslands- A conservation initiative was launched to help protect the Pampas, South American Grasslands, an area important for birds including Upland Sandpiper, Swainson’s Hawk, Buff-breasted Sandpiper and Bobolink. Conservation organizations from four South American countries have teamed up to protect the Southern Cone of the continent; Aves Argentinas, Aves Uraguay, SAVE Brazil and Guyra Paraguay. For more information on this national conservation effort (which also includes the National Audubon Society, the U.S. Forest Service, the Northern Prairies Action Plan and Pronatura) see Alliance for the Grasslands
C-Notes #8 – YouTube, Western Bluebirds and NMBCA
December 14, 2008
Article in: Bird Conservation
ABC’s YouTube Channel – The American Bird Conservancy has a YouTube channel featuring bird news and bird videos. They are constantly adding new video so check them out!
Western Bluebird Reintroduction Project – According to The American Bird Conservancy, transplanted Western Bluebirds have successfully nested in the San Juan Islands in Washington. On these ancestral breeding grounds 21 bluebirds have fledged despite record setting cold weather.
Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA) Report – The American Bird Conservancy has released a report released shows that 127 of 341 species of birds are in decline, 65 of them severely. Even with the decline of bird species, the report shows that the efforts from the NMBCA are becoming successful.
C-Notes #7 – Coffee and Green Gifts
November 30, 2008
Article in: Bird Conservation
Good Earth Coffee – The coffee and tea company Good Earth Coffee has a mission to provide food that is good for consumers as well as the environment. One of their new promotions urges coffee drinkers to take the “Brew At Home” Pledge. By drinking coffee brewed at home we can all help reduce the amount of disposable cups thrown into landfills.
For each person that signs the pledge, Good Earth Coffee will donate $1 to The Trust for Public Land up to their goal of $20,000.
The Trust for Public Land is a conservation organization that works to conserve land such as parks and historic sites. It is a national, non-profit organization with many conservation initiatives such as Working Lands which protects the rural lands such as farms and ranches. They also help other companies and agencies with their conservation projects and ideas.
Tis the Season – Christmas is fast approaching. This is a great year to try a unique and conservation-minded gift. Wouldn’t it be cool to be the guy or gal handing out a Duck Stamp for the office gift exchange? Make someone directly a part of bird conservation (98 cents of each dollar goes to land purchasing and leasing to protect wildlife).
Another cool Christmas idea is a gift membership to The Nature Conservancy. Receiving a year of the Nature Conservancy’s magazine is great for anyone interested in protecting the environment.
C-Notes #6 – Birdwire, Bird News Network, and Round Robin
September 25, 2008
Article in: Bird Conservation
The American Bird Conservancy is a treasure trove of bird conservation information. While the ABC website is a great place to browse, there are two ways to stay up on important bird conservation news.
- One, you can subscribe to the free newsletter, Birdwire.
- Two, you can subscribe to the Bird News Network.
The American Bird Conservancy is a leading bird conservation organization and we strongly encourage everyone to become members if they are not already.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Round Robin Blog – If you are not already aware of Cornell’s blog, this is a great place to voice your opinions on ways the Lab can improve their website and even their whole way of doing business. This is a fabulous place to learn about new projects going down at the lab, some of which are truly innovative for this type of large organization.
