Chris Merkord

The Biocore Prairie Bird Banding Station is an all-volunteer operation that monitors bird populations in the Preserve, above Picnic Point. We welcome volunteers of all skill levels, and will teach volunteers how to band birds. Banding offers a wonderful opportunity for people to see birds up close, learn about their migration and nesting patterns, and understand how natural areas enhance their biological success. The Station provides opportunities for students to do research projects in the summer, and for individuals to use as a research resource.

The non-profit Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory was established in 1994 to carry on and expand the work of volunteers who established an annual songbird banding station at Kiptopeke in 1963. Field research and educational programs are conducted at a variety of sites on the Eastern Shore, in Virginia Beach, in Chesapeake, near Williamsburg and Richmond and at Shenandoah River State Park in Northern Virignia.

The center is a 501 ©(3) not-for-profit organization that gives a permanent home to non-releasable wild birds of prey. The raptors are used in programs to educate the public about these majestic birds. Our Mission is to educate the public about the birds of prey that live around them in hope that people will realize that these birds exist and to do what they can to help live along side them in harmony. The Raptor Center has current US Fish and Wildlife state and federal permits. But is not funded through the state or federal government. The center is funded entirely by public donations and volunteers only. We educate the public through our off site programs for schools, boy and girl scouts, churches, assisted living centers, special events, etc.

A list of bird observatories and banding stations in North America, Europe, and Australia.

A cooperative partnership promoting the study and understanding of birds in Central Texas. The Hornsby Bend Bird Observatory is located near Austin, Texas at the Austin Water Utility's Hornsby Bend Biosolids Management Plant. It is hosted by the Austin Water Utility's Center for Environmental Research at Hornsby Bend. More information about Hornsby Bend can be found at the Center for Environmental Research website.

The Gulf Coast Bird Observatory is an independent non-profit organization with 501© status. We have become recognized as an innovative organization, which has designed and conducted a significant number of large conservation projects, including migration studies, habitat enhancement, land acquisition, regional habitat mapping, and others.

Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association is: - A scientific research center - An international conservation training site - A learning facility for all ages - An eco-tourism destination - A wildlife sanctuary open to the public year-round - The world's largest member-supported raptor conservation organization - One of the best places in northeastern North America to view the annual autumn hawk migration The mission of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association is to conserve birds of prey worldwide by providing leadership in raptor conservation science and education, and by maintaining Hawk Mountain Sanctuary as a model observation, research and education facility.

Built on two decades of efforts in the Klamath-Siskiyou Bioregion of southern Oregon and northern California, KBO is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing bird and habitat conservation through science, education, and partnerships. KBO’s work focuses in this bioregion, renowned for its outstanding biological diversity.

The George Miksch Sutton Avian Research Center (Sutton Center) was founded in 1983 with the mission of finding cooperative conservation solutions for birds and the natural world through science and education. The Sutton Center is a private, non-profit organization located near Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and since 1997 has been a part of the Oklahoma Biological Survey in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oklahoma.

The mission of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory is to inspire the appreciation, enjoyment and conservation of birds and their habitats through research, education and outreach. Located in the remnants of the once vast Great Black Swamp region of Northwest Ohio, Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO) is a 510©(3) nonprofit dedicated to promoting sound stewardship of avian resources in the Lake Erie Marsh Region. BSBO teams research with education to promote bird conservation.

Onondaga Audubon’s Derby Hill, located on the southeastern corner of Lake Ontario in Oswego County, NY, is one of the premier hawk watches in the Northeastern United States. Hawk counts at the site were started in the early 60’s and since 1979 have been conducted every year in a standardized way.

Braddock Bay Bird Observatory is a non-profit organization dedicated to ornithological research, education and conservation. BBBO is operated entirely by volunteers, with the financial support of our members. Our primary research and education facility, the Kaiser-Manitou Beach Banding Station, is located on the south shore of Lake Ontario northwest of Rochester, NY.

The Sandy Hook Bird Observatory was established in 2001 by the New Jersey Audubon Society in one of New Jersey's best year-around birding locations. Sandy Hook is a peninsula that projects northward into Raritan Bay at the northern-most point of the New Jersey coast. Due to its history as a military installation until recently, Sandy Hook is largely undeveloped and supports a variety of habitats.

Founded in 1976 by the New Jersey Audubon Society*, the Cape May Bird Observatory (CMBO) is a leader in research, environmental education, bird conservation, and recreational birding activities. Our mission: to understand and instill appreciation of the needs of resident and migrating birds so that human ambitions do not undermine them. Funded almost entirely by the support of an international membership, two facilities serve our members' needs and interests.

Great Basin Bird Observatory (GBBO) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats in the Great Basin and the northern Mojave Desert. This mission shall be accomplished through partnerships, public education, and applied research.

The mission of the Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory is to protect birds of prey and other migratory birds in the Western Lake Superior Region through research, education, and stewardship. The Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve, located in Duluth, Minnesota, provides some of North America's best autumn hawk watching.

Whitefish Point provides a phenomenal concentration spot for migrant birds. Here, land and water features create a natural migration corridor. Tens of thousands of birds are funneled to the Point every Spring and Fall while migrating through the Great Lakes region. For over 30 years, Whitefish Point Bird Observatory has been monitoring and documenting these annual migrations. Our mission is to document the distribution and abundance of birds in the Great Lakes Region, with special emphasis on migration.

The Rouge River Bird Observatory was established in 1992 to explore an understudied yet increasingly important area of research: the importance of urban natural areas to birds. In our increasingly urbanizing world, habitat fragments in metropolitan areas become more critical to birds. Understanding how birds use them is essential for conservation. RRBO is a donor-funded project of the University of Michigan-Dearborn's Environmental Interpretive Center.

As one of the nation’s oldest non-profit environmental research organizations, Manomet is dedicated to conserving natural resources for both humans and wildlife. Through science and public engagement, Manomet works to integrate society’s social, economic, and environmental values into enduring, sustainable systems that will support the needs of present and future generations. Read more »

A list of bird observatories in the U.S. and Candada compiled by The Ornithological Council.

RMBO was founded in 1988 to address the need for bird conservation in the western United States. Our mission is to conserve birds and their habitats. We accomplish our mission through Science, Education and Stewardship. RMBO's Science provides the knowledge to drive conservation action. Our Education program instills a conservation ethic and uses birds as a tool to engage youth and adults in the outdoors. Stewardship works with agricultural producers to increase awareness for wildlife and implement on the ground conservation.

Mission: PRBO Conservation Science is dedicated to conserving birds, other wildlife and ecosystems through innovative scientific research and outreach. PRBO Conservation Science (PRBO) is a non-profit organization founded in 1965 as Point Reyes Bird Observatory. PRBO does bird ecology research, creates management tools, leads field science training programs, and develops and delivers bird science education programs to advance biodiversity conservation in the west on land and at sea. PRBO scientists study birds because they are excellent indicators of environmental health: they are top predators, relatively inexpensive to monitor and widely distributed. PRBO is growing its staff and scope of work in response to the ever–increasing demand for sound science to guide and evaluate conservation investments. PRBO now supports about 65 staff scientists, 55 seasonal biologists and another 85 conservation biology interns.

The mission of the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory is to study migrating birds of prey along the Pacific coast and to promote public awareness of the state of raptor populations. The GGRO is dedicated to the conservation of raptors and to community involvement in wildlife research. Our studies of the movements of hawks through the Golden Gate National Recreation Area demonstrate that biological boundaries extend far beyond political boundaries. The GGRO is a project of the Golden Gate National Parks Association and the National Park Service, and is made up of 250+ community volunteers and a small staff.