Title Sponsors
Program Sponsors
International Migratory Bird Day 2004 Report of Activities
International Migratory Bird Day 2004 Conservation of Colonial Nesters
A Report of Activities and Program Successes
The Importance of IMBD Sponsorships
Contributions to IMBD are extremely important to the program. Financial support helps us to develop and print materials, a process which requires a minimum of 6 months and the assistance of artists, development staff, and printers. After materials are developed, we must have the staff, office, and equipment necessary to distribute thousands of t-shirts, posters, and other materials. Equally important, sponsorships enable us to make IMBD materials available to groups at low cost and to donate materials to groups that can’t afford the cost. In 2004, the IMBD program contributed posters and education materials to museums, non-governmental organizations, and universities in the U.S. and Latin America.
Outreach, Communication, & Partnerships
International Migratory Bird Day 2004 had many successes in 2004, including: ♦ Distribution of over 150 pairs of binoculars in 6 Mexican states through a partnership with Eagle Optics; ♦ Attendance at the BirdWatch America show in Atlanta to present IMBD materials; ♦ Collaboration with the Council for Environmental Education in developing Flying Wild: An Educator’s Guide to Celebrating Birds and ensuring that the project emphasizes and comlements IMBD ; ♦ Assistance with the Mazatlan Aquarium’s week-long bird camp for 80 youths by providing binoculars, delivering programs, and helping with day-to-day activities; ♦ The development of www.birdiq.com, a new, educational web-site for educators, young people, and amateur birders. The site features an “Explorer’s Map”, which allows visitors to view the locations of festivals, bird observatories, and more; ♦ Participation in the 2004 Wetlands National Symposium, Kansas City, Missouri; ♦ Collaboration with Swift Instruments on development of a program for delivering refurbished binoculars to educators; ♦ Ongoing coordination with educators from a variety of organizations, such as Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help distribute existing education materials; ♦ Increasing recognition in Latin America. The Environment and Energy Minister of Costa Rica signed an official decree declaring the second Saturday in April National Migratory Bird Day. ♦ Features about IMBD in dozens of newspaper, magazines, community calendars, and websites, including the Baltimore Sun, The Daily Times, Yankee Magazine, Arizona Guide, Costa Rica’s Tico Times, and the Toledo Talk. ♦ Distribution of 80,000 IMBD posters, available in 3 languages (English, Spanish, and French) ; ♦ Distribution of 9,000 education booklets focusing on the conservation of colonial nesting birds.
IMBD Recognized Nationally
In fall 2004, International Migratory Bird Day was selected by the Biodiversity Education Network from among over 20 other national and international biodiversity education programs as a model of successful program development, implementation, and evaluation. IMBD will be featured at the National Association for the Advancement of Environmental Education conference and on the Biodiversity Education Network’s new website, www.bioednet.org.
Expansion of IMBD Materials
IMBD is one of the few programs that regularly produces and distributes quality education materials about birds. The program is attractive to educators because of the ever increasing variety of materials and their relevance to current conservation issues. In 2004-2005, IMBD will continue to expand as follows: 1. Improvements are being made to the IMBD website, www.birdday.org. Online ordering of materials will be
easier, and IMBD participants will be able to register their events. Event information will then be incorporated into the Explorer’s Map. 2. IMBD is working with Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology to develop a CD that will share information about bird identification, Project FeederWatch, and IMBD. 3. In 2004, three new education materials were produced through IMBD. A migration map features the journeys of a variety of species and includes information about the biology of migration. Birds of a Feather is an 8-page magazine that explores colonial birds, and the new Bird Facts t-shirt for kids offers fun information about birds on a bright, lime green tee. 4. Plans are underway to develop more active involvement in the IMBD conservation theme each year by collaboration with a research project. 5. IMBD is taking the lead in acquiring existing education materials that are not being fully utilized or shared, preparing them for public use, and making them available to the public. For example, by 2005, the PIF awardwinning Songbird Blues curriculum will be offered through IMBD.
IMBD Wish List
The IMBD wish list continues to grow along with the program. Below are just a few items: √ Digital camera for photographing materials, festivals, etc. √ Travelers to Canada and Latin America willing to take and distribute IMBD materials √ Mailing lists for IMBD catalog distribution √ Funding for part-time staff to assist with website updates, program evaluation, and program outreach If you are able to help with any of these needs, please contact Susan Bonfield at (970)513-7017 or SBonfield@aol.com
Exciting News for 2005
The IMBD 2005 theme will focus on the structures that impact birds in flight. Cell towers, wind turbines, plate glass windows, power lines, and planes all contribute to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of birds each year, and IMBD education materials and art will explore this issue. Our 2005 artist is David Sibley, well-known author of the Sibley Guide to Birds. Efforts are underway to highlight IMBD and the artist at an existing event in the United States.
What Is An IMBD Event?
An IMBD event can range from a classroom program to a bird hike to a 3 day festival that attracts thousands. All are valuable means of providing information to the public about birds and bird conservation.
FUN: IMBD events often include activities for kids and adults.
INFORMATION: Guests can share information about their organizations and their role in bird conservation.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Participants learn about the birds in their backyards through education programs, art contests, and events held at local parks and refuges.