Conservation and Education Resources for Birders

The many pleasures of birding all require birds. Many species are declining, threatened,or endangered. The Brookline Bird Club encourages a commitment to bird conservation and participation in activities and organizations that promote conservation through collection of data, monitoring of populations, preservation of habitat, protection of at-risk species, political action, and education.

CITIZEN SCIENCE: Bird Censuses, Monitoring, Banding, Research

Massachusetts Audubon Society
  • Massachusetts Breeding Bird Atlas 2: five-year census of breeding birds in state
  • Birds to Watch: Oriole Project & Whip-poor-will Project
  • Focus on Feeders
  • Joppa Flats Bird Banding Station
National Audubon Society
  • annual Christmas Bird Counts
North American Breeding Bird Survey (co-sponsored by Patuxent Wildlife Research Center & Canadian Wildlife Services)
Cornell Lab of Ornithology:
Bird-banding programs:
Eastern Massachusetts Hawk Watch & Northeast Hawk Watch
Massachusetts Bluebird Association: nestbox building, monitoring
New England Hummers: Ruby-throated sightings ; monitoring
TASL Boston Harbor Waterbird Census: waterbird monitoring
various local breeding bird surveys ; censuses: e.g. Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary

ORGANIZATIONS FOR BIRDERS & CONSERVATION OF BIRDS

American Bird Conservancy
  • bird conservation issues (e.g. global warming)
  • American birds campaigns (e.g. Safeguarding the Rarest)
  • domestic habitat programs (e.g. Landscape Level Conservation)
  • domestic advocacy programs (e.g. Pesticides and Birds)
  • international programs (e.g. Alliance for Zero Extinction)
  • science & monitoring programs (e.g. Andes Bird Monitoring)
American Birding Association
  • Birders’ Exchange
  • Institute for Field Ornithology
  • Young Birders programs
Bird Observer: bimonthly New England birding journal
  • sponsors Massbird listserv and links to conservation organizations
Massachusetts Audubon Society
  • Grassland Bird Program
  • Coastal Waterbird Program (with field and intern programs)
  • Advocacy: state legislation, land protection projects, & Action Network
National Audubon Society
  • Watch List: monitors threatened bird species
  • Important Bird Areas Program: global effort to identify & conserve vital areas for birds
  • Waterbird & Coastal Bird Conservation programs; Neighborhood Conservation
  • Issues & Actions: public policy advocacy re. habitats &endangered species
Partners in Flight: bird conservation partnerships & education
North American Bird Conservation Initiative: coordinates partnerships
Ornithological Council Legislative Alert System
Boreal Songbird Initiative: advocacy & education for boreal birds
U. S. Shorebird Conservation Plan and Council
Ducks Unlimited: wetlands management & conservation
BirdLife International: global conservation partnerships, advocacy
Global Owl Project: research, education, conservation
Proact Campaigns: coordinates conservation efforts in Europe

LAND STEWARDSHIP, SPECIES & HABITAT PRESERVATION, and LEGISLATION

World Wildlife Fund: global preservation of habitats & species
National Wildlife Federation: wildlife protection, education, legislation

The Nature Conservancy: land protection, education, legislation (for Massachusetts branch, e-mail massachusetts@tnc.org)
The Wilderness Society: preservation, legislation, WildAlert
Defenders of Wildlife: conservation, education, endangered species
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Duck Stamp, wetlands conservation
Point Reyes Bird Observatory: conservation of birds & ecosystems, outreach
Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences: research, conservation
Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition: regional land trust & conservation (SEE links to local organizations: e.g. Trustees of Reservations, Essex County Greenbelt)
Trust for Public Land: conservation of land & open space
Green Neighborhoods Alliance: open space residential design
National Wind Coordinating Collaborative: windpower & wildlife
Mass Wildlife: state agency--land protection, wildlife restoration(includes National Heritage and Endangered Species programs)
Massachusetts Wetlands Restoration Program
“friends” support groups: e.g. Friends of Parker River NWR, Friends of Mt. Auburn Cemetery
ad hoc political action campaigns: e.g. Secure Fence Act in Rio Grande Valley

EDUCATION

Robert Askins, Restoring North America’s Birds, Yale University Press, 2000.
Jeffrey V. Wells, Birder’s Conservation Handbook, Princeton University Press, 2007.
John Faaborg, Saving Migrant Birds, University of Texas Press, 2002.
Bridget Stutchbury, Silence of the Songbirds, Walker & Company, 2007.
Laura Erickson, 101 Ways to Help Birds, Stackpole Books, 2006.
T. E. Martin & D. M. Finch (eds.), Ecology and Management of Neotropical Migratory Birds, Oxford University Press, 1995.
Flying Wild: school curriculum for conservation, stewardship

Cornell Lab BirdSleuth: online research & curriculum for children
National Audubon: Kidscape guide to Habitat at Home
PIF International Migratory Bird Day education materials
Mass Audubon: education programs for schools and adults