The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center is a research program dedicated to fostering greater understanding, appreciation, and protection of bird migration. It is located at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

History

This Smithsonian Institution research program was founded with Congressional support in 1991, and was incorporated in 1997 as part of the National Zoological Park. It came under the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, established in 2010.[1]

From an initial focus on the conservation biology of Neotropical songbirds, it now researches the role of disease in population declines in migratory birds,[2] environmental challenges facing urban and suburban birds and their adaptation to changes in natural and anthropogenic habitats and climate,[3] and the conservation biology of wetland birds.[4] Their research group has long-term research programs dealing with migratory birds in both their breeding and non-breeding areas, with studies of how specific breeding and non-breeding populations are connected by migration.[5]

The center is led by wildlife biologist Scott Sillett.[6]

Programs

In 1998, it developed the Bird Friendly coffee program[7][8][9] that fosters management practices at coffee farms that are good for birds while remaining marketable. Coffee grown under the program is certified[10] as shade grown and organic, with purchases supporting the conservation of migratory birds. The criteria for Bird Friendly certification was developed from basic research on migratory bird-habitat relationships by Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center scientists.

The center sponsors advanced undergraduate and graduate students at collaborating institutions, as well as in-house post-doctoral fellowships. The center's education efforts include the creation of International Migratory Bird Day,[11] a holiday which is celebrated on the second Saturday of May in the United States and Canada, and on the second Saturday of October in most of Latin America.

Neighborhood Nestwatch[12] is the center's community-based science and educational outreach program where volunteers monitor the reproductive success and survival of birds in their communities.[6][13]

Its Bridging the Americas/Unidos por las Aves program[14] is an education program that partners elementary school classes in the Washington, D.C. area with classes in Latin America and the Caribbean. The goals of the program are:

  1. To teach students about the migratory birds that connect these two regions of the hemisphere and the need to protect their habitats
  2. To stimulate an interest in learning about other countries and their cultures

Since 1993, over 17,000 students in grades third through eighth from 11 countries of the Americas have participated.[15]

References

  1. ↑ "Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute - National Zoo | FONZ". Smithsonian. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  2. ↑ Chong, Jia-Rui (2007-05-17). "Study tallies West Nile's toll on continent's birds". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  3. ↑ Kaplan, Janice L. (2003-05-02). "Research Program Is for the Birds". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  4. ↑ "Study: Mangrove Animals Risk Extinction". www.upi.com. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  5. ↑ "Population Connectivity". www.newsdesk.umd.edu. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  6. 1 2 Fears, Darryl (2020-05-22). "Amid the pandemic, people are paying more attention to tweets. And not the Twitter kind". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  7. ↑ "Think Before You Drink". www.washingtonpost.com. 2003-02-28. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  8. ↑ "Wake Up and Smell the Bird-Friendly, Shade-Grown Coffee". www.sfgate.com/chronicle/. 1999-07-11. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  9. ↑ "Bird Friendly coffee". www.birdwatchersdigest.com. Archived from the original on March 16, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. ↑ "Bird Friendly certification". www.ethicalcoffee.net. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  11. ↑ "Bird Day History". Environment for the Americas. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  12. ↑ "Neighborhood Nestwatch". wamu.org. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  13. ↑ Young, Lauren (2013-06-13). "'Bird Doctors' Come to Lake Anne Elementary". www.connectionnewspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  14. ↑ "Migratory Birds Project". www.hmerida.com. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  15. ↑ "Bridging the Americas". Smithsonian. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
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