Monday, March 25, 2013

COA

This weekend was the annual meeting of the Connecticut Ornithological Association and I very much enjoyed all the talks.  I was stuck thinking about questions of conservation and the future of birding as all three talks addressed different aspects of the birding community.

Marshall Iliff - www.ebird.org - Iliff is the project director of ebird and is currently working to expand our own understanding of birds and is building a large army of citizen-scientists to help him to just that.  Some of the questions I was left with was now that we can track birds, how do we reach out to other populations of people out there who can help us protect these birds.

Sharon "The Birdchick" Stiteler - www.birdchick.com - Stitler's talk focused around her many adventures birding.  Once again, I had several questions about conservation.  Stiteler focused her talked on the different environments where birders are found.  Places like a volcano in Guatemala, Corn Fields in Israel, and downtown Minneapolis.  All the time, Stiteler demonstrated that not only can people, birds, and complex ecosystems co-exist, they can thrive together.  I was left thinking, how do we export/import models of successful human and nature interactions.  How do we protect and enjoy the nature that is around us?

Dr. Steve Kress - National Audubon & Project Puffin - Dr. Kress's talk brought up a myriad of questions and facts.   How do we protect the seabird species and how can humans help the struggling birds on the world?  Kress brought several cases how humans are working to protect and ensure the survival of several threatened birds including the Short-Tailed Albatross and the Bermuda Petrel.  What role do we play in the survival of threatened birds?

Perhaps I am just using a lens of conservation to look at and think about the community and situation we all find ourselves in.  So in the meantime, look at some pictures of birds, the meeting, and a half-eaten bird!  Someone had a bad day for sure!

Blue-Winged Teal
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The COA Meeting
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A Skeleton of a Bird


2013 Year List:106
New Additions:
Wilson's Snipe
Cooper's Hawk
Blue-Winged Teal

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