Mon 4 May 2009
International Migratory Bird Day is here!
Posted by Nicole under Field Trips, Surveys and Counts
[2] Comments
This coming Saturday (May 9th) is International Migratory Bird Day! To celebrate this great day, we have twelve (yes you read that right!) excellent bird walks planned in places across Loudoun, and they’re prefect for people who are new to birding as well as those who have been bitten by the bug already.
A few years back I was in Peru and was on a bird walk with a local group. I was wearing my IMBD t-shirt from the year before and the woman leading the trip asked me what it was all about.
I’d never been asked that before, but it’s always been a special day for me. My answer was a quick, knee-jerk response: “It’s a day when we celebrate the connections between our countries, between North America and South America, through our birds.” She was intrigued and we talked further about the birds we were seeing there in her home town, the perilous journey that many of them would soon make back towards our area, and the places that I would then enjoy watching them through the summer. It was a really neat discussion and probably the first time that I had really connected with someone who was my counterpart, thousands of miles away from home, sharing in both the love of birds and the responsibility of caring for their habitat.
So, IMBD has a variety of facets to it. It’s a wonderful day to get outside, enjoy nature and see some beautiful spring arrivals. It’s a time to witness the amazing journeys birds make between countries and continents. It’s a time to look at our habitat from a bird’s eye view and consider what is here and what has disappeared. And, it’s a time to think about the places and the people in the countries to whom these birds connect us.
We encourage all of you to come on out and join us for one of our walks this weekend, see some of these wonderful birds, enjoy the springtime with us….and bring your friends!
You can sign up for our walks online on our IMBD Signup page and also learn more about IMBD (and download some free materials) by visiting the Partners in Flight website.
As part of this event, some of us are also participating in the Birdathon to raise money for the development of the Loudoun County Bird Atlas – this Atlas will, for the first time, provide a reference on the birds that rely on Loudoun for habitat. Having this data will enable us to better engage in conservation efforts to preserve (or restore) wildlife habitats. If you’d like to make a pledge to one of our teams, you can do so online: Make a pledge. Every bit helps!
I hope to see you out along the trails!
Hey Nicole ! I love that ” …look at our habitat from a bird’s eye view…” if more of us homeowners would take that to heart and see that we are sharing Habitat with other creatures, and then maybe the look of a messy hedgerow, downed tree or weedy lawn will be less of an irritant and more of a welcome mat for wildlife. I spent 3 days with 2 friends in Canaan Valley , WV( one of them owns a cabin there ), birding and nosing around. I was stunned at the diversity and wildness of many of the areas. The cabin owner grew up in Davis and knew where all the great spots were. We got to add Oven Birds, Bobolinks, BT Green Warblers ( lots ! ) Magnolia Warbler…among others…to our life lists. Even with all the rain, it was fantastic. Love your photos !!!!
Dale
Nicole, never stop sharing. I need you (and everyone else does, too) to guide me in my journey upon this fragile earth I tread upon. Thank you for the information.