Mcgill bird observatory

Operations at MBO emphasize migration monitoring, research, and volunteer training.

MBO is a member of the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network, filling a significant gap between banding stations, with the nearest other active sites in Ottawa and Prince Edward County to the west, and Tadoussac to the east. Operations at MBO are patterned after those at other Canadian bird observatories, with an emphasis on migration monitoring, research, and volunteer training. This page has moved to www. Charitable tax receipts will be issued for all donations upon request. Recent reports: Latest fall migration monitoring program update annual report PDF, 4. Have you seen a banded House Finch or American Goldfinch? Click here for details and to report sightings.

Mcgill bird observatory

It was established in as a partnership between the Migration Research Foundation and graduate students in the Natural Resource Sciences department at McGill University. Every day during spring and fall, up to six volunteers gather at the observatory 30 minutes before sunrise to monitor bird migration through banding and observation for six hours. Birds are caught using specialized nets, which are visited frequently during the morning. After a bird is extracted from the net, it is brought back to the banding station where the bander-in-charge will first identify it, then put an appropriate size band on its tarsus. The bird is then aged, sexed, its wing chord is measured, its fat level is taken and it is finally weighed just before release. Since its inception in , MBO has banded 69, birds of species. The collection of data through migration monitoring stations has proven to be a practical and effective way of tracking changes in bird populations, especially the species that breed in the vast and hard-to-reach boreal forest. One aspect of this standardized protocol is that we must keep the habitat stable throughout the years in order to be able to compare our data. The vegetation maintenance on our hectare site is done by one retired volunteer, Malcolm Johnson. He spends over hours every year, doing everything from mowing our grass to trimming down our bushes.

Who and what is the MBO? This page has moved to www, mcgill bird observatory. MBO also pursues a variety of other research projects and delivers educational programs, ranging from banding workshops and ongoing training of volunteers to public presentations and development of identification resources.

However, a broader audience grew quickly, as other birds and banders found these pages to provide a useful visual complement to Peter Pyle's Identification Guide to North American Birds , and over time the collection expanded to over 60 species. After a decade of hosting the photo library here on the Migration Research Foundation's website, we partnered with Environment Canada in to share our material through the Piranga module of NatureInstruct - a website specifically developed to teach bird identification. While Piranga focuses on ageing and sexing of birds, the Dendroica component is designed to help identify species by sight and sound, and a new module Avichorus is in development, to aid with interpretation of multispecies sound files. Migrating the MBO photo library to Piranga provides users with several advantages. Piranga allows users to select images for side-by-side comparison, and a quiz feature provides an easy opportunity for self-testing. A comments ection built directly into the site allows for discussion of particularly challenging photos.

Stoneycroft is directly adjacent to the Morgan Arboretum, the largest of its kind in Canada, covering hectares. An internal report Bardo, L. Goulet, A. Hibbert, V. Lukasik and K.

Mcgill bird observatory

Operations at MBO emphasize migration monitoring, research, and volunteer training. It is adjacent to the hectare Morgan Arboretum, the largest arboretum in Canada. MBO also pursues a variety of other research projects and delivers educational programs, ranging from banding workshops and ongoing training of volunteers to public presentations and development of identification resources. It is designated as a McGill Research Station, and as such there is no public access, except within the context of special events or research programs.

Elden ring helm

In the banding office. Write to us: mbo migrationresearch. Fall migration banding and census coverage runs from August 1 through October Spring and fall count data have been collected annually since , and have been standardized since spring Created for free using WordPress and Colibri. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of our core supporters:. What has not changed is that MBO banders continue to curate many of the species accounts 80 at present , selecting the best images available to illustrate each age and sex class for every species, and providing explanatory text. To accomplish that task, he was previously using a stepladder and a pair of clippers to cut the hawthorn and buckthorn branches that are overhanging in the lane. Every day during spring and fall, up to six volunteers gather at the observatory 30 minutes before sunrise to monitor bird migration through banding and observation for six hours. Many members of BPQ volunteer there in assorted capacities while our charity provides financial support for some of their important projects. Daily estimated totals are compiled at the end of each observation period, as the sum of all individuals counted throughout the day through banding, census, and observation, minus obvious repeats of the same individuals.

Flamborough Bird Observatory FBO is administrated by a team of dedicated volunteers, whose aims include studying and recording the birds of the area, creating and maintaining local habitats for wildlife, and promoting conservation in the community. Thornwick now has a new hide and a fantastic small nature reserve adopted by FBO which is open to the public. The new hide and new conservation work at Thornwick April

Since its inception in , MBO has banded 69, birds of species. However, many projects have either become part of migration monitoring, or are very closely associated with it:. What do we do? This page has moved to www. Adopt an owl program. Help is needed both with banding activities and with site maintenance — information about volunteering can be found here. About 10, birds representing 96 species were banded in the first two years of operation, further suggesting that it is an important migratory stopover site for passerines. The primary emphasis at MBO is on passerine migration monitoring. It is adjacent to the hectare Morgan Arboretum, the largest arboretum in Canada. While Piranga focuses on ageing and sexing of birds, the Dendroica component is designed to help identify species by sight and sound, and a new module Avichorus is in development, to aid with interpretation of multispecies sound files.