Chris Merkord

Since 1975, birdwatchers have been monitoring the annual spring migration of hawks, eagles, falcons, and vultures over the Niagara Peninsula. The Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch was organized in March of 1990 to: - Promote the enjoyment of hawkwatching - Educate people about hawks and hawk migration - Conduct systematic counts of hawks migrating over the Niagara Peninsula - Work for the preservation of raptors in Ontario

The Malheur Field Station is a nonprofit education and research center located in near Burns, Oregon, dedicated to lifelong learning of the northern Great Basin of the United States. MFS also offers rustic lodging accomodations for short and extended stays.

Facebook Group for IPBO. Founded in 1982 as the Ottawa Banding Group, the Innis Point Bird Observatory (IPBO) is located along the Ottawa River, near Shirley's Bay, in Ontario, Canada (just 16 km west of Parliament).

Since 1952, Hanging Rock has been a monitoring point for hawk, eagle, falcon, and osprey migration along the birds' eastern route.

L'Observatoire d'oiseaux de Tadoussac (OOT) se situe à Tadoussac, au Québec (Canada), dans les limites du Parc national du Saguenay, secteur de la Baie-du-Moulin-à-Baude. Les observations et la capture d'oiseaux migrateurs se font à partir d'une terrasse de sable, aussi appelée Dunes de Tadoussac. Elle surplombe de 60 mètres l'estuaire maritime du Saint-Laurent, en aval de l'embouchure du Fjord du Saguenay. La municipalité de Tadoussac se situe à 220 km au nord-est de la ville de Québec. Régionalement, la végétation appartient au domaine bioclimatique de la sapinière à bouleau jaune. Le climat est de type subpolaire subhumide, continental (température annuelle moyenne de 2,5˚C; précipitation annuelle moyenne de 900 à 1000 mm). -- The Observatoire d'oiseaux de Tadoussac (OOT) is an ornithological research organization that has been collecting and analysing information concerning migrating birds since 1993. The OOT is run by Explos-Nature, a non-profit making organization devoted to education and research.

McGill Bird Observatory (MBO) is a project of the Migration Research Foundation in Montreal, Quebec. 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.

Haldimand Bird Observatory was established in 1996 with the joining of the Selkirk Park station under John Miles and the Ruthven Historic Park site under Rick Ludkin. In 2000, the Rock Point site was opened under Jim Smith. With the death of John Miles in 2006, the Selkirk station closed. Haldimand Bird Observatory now operates two stations: Rock Point and Ruthven. We have charitable status and an elected board of directors. Our annual general meeting is held at the beginning of April.

The Canadian Bird Banding Office administers the Canadian Bird Banding Program. Bird banding is an important tool used in the scientific study and monitoring of wild birds. Uniquely numbered metal bands placed on the leg of the bird allow tracking of individual birds throughout their life time. In addition to federal bands, birds may carry other marker types such as flags, neck collars, wing tags, coloured leg bands, geolocators, radio or satellite transmitters. This makes possible studies that help to monitor bird populations, set waterfowl hunting regulations, protect endangered species, and assess the effects of environmental contaminants. Migratory birds are protected in Canada and so those wishing to mark birds must apply for a bird banding permit. Permits are issued to qualified individuals who carry out the marking and research or monitoring. Banding data is submitted to the Banding Office and archived in a central database. Banding and encounter data are available to the public upon request. Environment Canada and the United States Geological Survey's Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) jointly administer the North American Bird Banding Program. Much of today's banding contributes to North America-wide monitoring, research, and conservation programs as well as improving our understanding of bird movement world wide.

Bird banding is an universal and indispensable technique for studying the movement, survival and behavior of birds. The North American Bird Banding Program is jointly administered by the United States Department of the Interior and the Canadian Wildlife Service . Their respective banding offices have similar functions and policies and use the same bands, reporting forms and data formats. Joint coordination of the program dates back to 1923. Bird banding is one of the most useful tools in the modern study of wild birds. Wild birds are captured and marked with a uniquely numbered band or ring placed on the leg. The bander records where and when each bird is banded, how old it is, what sex it is, and any other information and sends those data to the Bird Banding Laboratory. Information from bands subsequently found and reported to the Bird Banding Laboratory provides data on the distribution and movements of species, their relative numbers, annual production, life-span and causes of death. Such information increases our knowledge and understanding of birds and their habits and assists us in their management and conservation. The Bird Banding Laboratory issues permits that allow people and organizations to band birds. The Bird Banding Laboratory also issues bands to banders in the United States and maintains the data collected by banders. Some researchers request special authorizations to use markers that allow an individual bird to be identified at a distance or tracked using radio transmitters. The Bird Banding Laboratory does not actually band birds. Instead, the Bird Banding Laboratory issues the permits, provides the bands, and coordinates the marking projects in the United States. The Bird Banding Program supports the work of federal and state conservation agencies, the academic community, professional and amateur ornithologists, nongovernmental organizations, and businesses. These banders are involved in promulgating hunting regulations, monitoring bird populations, restoring endangered species, studying effects of environmental contaminants, studying bird behavior and ecology, and addressing issues of human health, safety and economy that involve birds.

Promoting Sound and Ethical Banding Principles and Techniques.

The GRIN Bibliography presently contains 50,000 records on diurnal raptors, and new records are being added daily. PDF copies of many of these references may be obtained for academic, non-commercial use free of charge by contacting library@peregrinefund.org.

RIS is a keyworded catalog of over 40,000 references about the biology and management of birds of prey. It includes books, articles, theses, government reports, and other gray literature regarding raptors worldwide. After the year 2010, new records have not been added to the RIS. This website will remain active until all records from the RIS have been imported into The Peregrine Fund's Global Raptor Information Network. You may want to check that system as well for current references.

The Western Bird Banding Association was formed in 1925 to provide guidance and assistance to a relatively small number of western bird banders, located then primarily in Southern California. Now an international organization, membership has grown to include banders throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Geographic Scope: central Canada and the central United States.

The Eastern Bird Banding Association was founded in 1923: "... to encourage investigations into the biology and migration of birds by banding.... to encourage its members and other interested persons in other ornithological studies.... to encourage the cooperation of its members in the pursuit of such purposes."

Ontario Bird Banding Association is Canada's oldest banding organization. OBBA is a non-profit, membership-driven and inclusive organization representing the interests of all amateur and 'professional' bird banders across Ontario, from organized bird observatories and academic institutions to educational and rehab banders.

Thunder Cape Bird Observatory (TCBO) is a joint project of the Thunder Bay Field Naturalists, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources - Wildlife Assessment Program (OMNR-WAP), and Bird Studies Canada, working in partnership with Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, and the Canadian Coast Guard. Core funding for the migration monitoring at Thunder Cape is provided by OMNR - WAP, to contribute to its assessment of bird population trends in Ontario. TBCO is associated with The Ontario Bird Banding Association and is part of The Canadian Migration Monitoring Network which tracks population trends, particularly for bird species that breed in remote areas farther north and are difficult to otherwise monitor. TCBO is strategically located at the southern tip of the Sibley Peninsula on the north shore of Lake Superior. This 35-km long forested peninsula is flanked by the highest cliffs in Ontario and is natural migrant trap, particularly for waterfowl, raptors, and passerines in the fall.

Founded in 1960, Long Point Bird Observatory (LPBO) was the first organization of its type in North America. As a non-profit, research and monitoring station, LPBO is committed to involving Canadians in research directed at the conservation of wild birds and their habitats. Our programs at Long Point are focused on local breeding and migratory birds. We have a special interest in promoting the participation of amateurs and volunteers in our research. We believe that many people working together can accomplish a great deal more than could a few professionals working alone.

In connection with the migration monitoring network the Atlantic Bird Observatory has been studying migrating birds since 1995. We operate two banding stations on Seal and Bon Portage Islands, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Delta Marsh Bird Observatory (DMBO), located at the south end of Lake Manitoba (24 km north of Portage la Prairie), has been operating since 1992, initially as a fall monitoring site, and then in 1995 as both spring and fall. Although traditionally noted for its abundance of waterfowl, Delta Marsh is also a primary stopover site for migrating songbirds. A narrow strip of trees growing on a dune ridge between the lake and the marsh provides a natural migration pathway, creating an ideal place in which to situate a monitoring station. The ridge and associated deciduous forest acts as a natural migrational corridor for landbirds migrating to and from the boreal forest and aspen parklands to the west of Lake Manitoba. Delta Marsh is a 18,000 hectare marsh, the largest of several marshes in the Lake Manitoba basin. It is internationally recognized as an ecologically important wetland and was designated an Important Bird Area in 1999 due to its significance as a waterfowl staging area and stopover sight for neotropical migrants.

Rocky Point Bird Observatory (RPBO) began in 1994 as a pilot project of the Canadian Wildlife Service and local volunteers to monitor neotropical passerines (songbirds) in coastal British Columbia. In February 2000 a board of directors formed a society to manage the observatory. The RPBO is a member of a national network of 25 migration monitoring stations with Bird Studies Canada (BSC) from Vancouver Island to Newfoundland. The site is located in rural Metchosin, a 45 minute drive southwest of Victoria on the grounds of the Department of National Defence's Rocky Point Ammunition Depot.

Our mission is to gain knowledge, understanding and appreciation of boreal birds by monitoring their populations and participating in research; to produce scientifically defensible data; to deliver education programs that foster appreciation of birds and their habitat needs; and to generate awareness/support of the LSLBO within the Lesser Slave Lake region and throughout Canada.