Education Programs / Projects

• Madison Area JASON 97 The JASON Project, an international, interdisciplinary program that aims to excite and engage students in science and technology, and to provide professional development for their teachers, uses the Internet and satellite feeds to enable 4th- through 8th-grade students to see and talk with scientists and researchers doing field work in remote locations around the world. The Madison Area project web site includes profiles of Great Lakes migratory birds, an audio of wetland bird songs, an interactive bird quiz, a listing of participating schools, guides to teacher resources and community "passport to discovery" sites, and student home pages developed as part of the JASON VIII Project curriculum.
• Institute for Bird Populations: Bird Banding Classes Designed to provide both amateur birders and professional biologists with the skills necessary to participate in monitoring and research programs involving bird banding. Fast-paced with skilled instructors. Scholarships available. IBP is a non-profit based in California dedicated to fostering a global approach to the preservation of birds and their habitats, and coordinates the MAPS program (see below).
• Rara Avis Rainforest Reserve Bordering Braulio Carrillo National Park and the Zona Protectora La Selva, Costa Rica, Rara Avis is an interesting project in commercial rainforest conservation - using ecotourism to make the rainforest profitable without destroying it, and using publicity to teach others to do the same. Website includes checklist of Costa Rica birds.

Optics Manufacturers

• Leica
• Swarovski
• Pentax

• HarperCollins publishers
• Houghton Mifflin publishers
• Peterson Online and Peterson Online Birds
• Stokes Field Guides
• Thayer Birding Software

• Happy Bird Corporation

• Iowa Bird Records Committee
• Maryland/Washington DC Records Committee
• Missouri Bird Records Committeel (list of members) 
• New Brunswick Bird Records Committee 
• New Jersey Bird Records Committee
• Ohio Bird Records Committee
• Ontario Bird Records Committee 

Breeding Bird Studies / Monitoring Programs (N America)

• North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) Results and Analysis 1966-1996. Started in 1966, the BBS is a large-scale survey of North American birds with the primary objective of estimating population change for songbirds. Run by Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, US Department of the Interior, Laurel, MD, USA. Website is divided into General Information, Survey Results, Analytical Tools, Learning Tools and is a good source of information about distributions and population changes of North American birds.
• Grassland Birds of North America A summary of population trends and distributions of breeding and wintering populations, as documented by the BBS and CBC. Info-rich website includes data, graphs, maps, species accounts.
• Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) A cooperative effort among public agencies, private organizations and the bird banders of North America to provide long-term data on the productivity, survivorship and population sizes of target landbird species through constant-effort mist netting, banding and point-counts during the breeding season. Relies increasingly on contribution of data from volunteer cooperators.
• Bird Monitoring Lists some monitoring programs of national interest undertaken by various US and Canadian agencies. 
• Bird Monitoring in North America A links hub for bird monitoring programs in North America.

• California: San Diego County Bird Atlas Project launched February 1997. Website includes project overview, species accounts, incidental observation form, notable discoveries, and reports from the field.
• California: Los Angeles County Breeding Bird Atlas Website contains info about the project, atlas handbook, casual observation form, newsletter Nest Notes (table of contents).
• Illinois Birds Website includes species list and distribution maps.
• Iowa Breeding Bird Atlas Web page reviews the Iowa Breeding Bird Atlas, published November 1996.
• Kansas Breeding Bird Atlas Web page gives some info about the project which involved data collection from 1992 to end 1997.
• Kentucky Breeding Bird Atlas Website includes species distribution maps and quad-level species list.
• Maryland Breeding Bird Atlas Web page by Maryland Ornithological Society describes the Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Maryland and the District of Columbia. Includes order form.
• New Jersey Breeding Bird Atlas Web page gives some background info on the project with a request for help on some difficult-to-detect species.
• Oregon Breeding Bird Atlas Website includes info about atlasing, the project (how to participate, resources, sponsors etc) and links.
• South Dakota Breeding Bird Atlas Website includes project results from fieldwork that took place between 1988-93, plus species distribution maps.
• Washington State Breeding Bird Atlas Website contains detailed info on the methodology, and species distribution maps.
• Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas Ongoing project begun in 1995. Website contains methodology, data summaries, species distribution maps, atlasers' biographies, casual observation form, and links.

• Christmas Bird Count Sponsored by the National Audubon Society. Began in 1900 and now involves over 40,000 participants. Birders count birds within a series of circular count areas each year on a pre-specified day around 25 December. Web page "is designed to display temporal and geographic patterns in populations of wintering North American birds using summarized CBC results from the period 1959-1988". 
• Christmas Bird Count Database Project Web page by John W. Shipman which gives a summary of completed efforts to make Christmas Bird Count data available in computer-readable form.
• Connecticut A page in The Birding in Connecticut website gives the winter 1996-97 listings.
• Minnesota A page in the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union's website gives the results of the 1996/97 CBC.
• Ohio Web page by Vic Fazio with results in pdf files (requires Acrobat reader software to read).
• Texas A section in the Texas Gulf Coast Birding and Naturalist Web gives listings by location and results of the 1996-97 CBC.

• Adelie Penguin Monitoring Program Web page by Judy Clarke and Dr Knowles Kerry, Australian Antarctic Division, with information about research carried out at the three Australian bases in Antarctica: Casey, Davis, and Mawson.
• Colonial Waterbird Inventory and Monitoring Web page posts the Recommended Protocol for a Regional/National Colonial Waterbird Inventory and Monitoring Program.
• Illinois Bluebird Project started by a group of bluebird enthusiasts to exchange information on how the bird is doing, nesting records, how to start a bluebird trail, nestboxes, problems.
• Macbride Raptor Project A non-profit devoted to the preservation of Iowa's raptors and their natural habitats through the rehabilitation of injured raptors, educational programs, and field research. Based at Univ of Iowa and Kirkwood Community College. Website includes info about different kinds of raptors, quizzes, directions to the center.
• Montreal Peregrine Falcons Website provides complete coverage of the life and times of a pair of Peregrine Falcons that have nested in the Stock Exchange Tour in Old Montreal since 1984, and a great deal of information about the species.
• LoonWatch A project initiated by Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Web page includes background information and links to the institutes other programs and resources.
• Project FeederWatch A Cornell Lab for Ornithology survey, running from November through March, of birds at backyard feeders involving thousands of volunteers throughout North America.
• Raptor Center at University of Minnesota an international medical facility for birds of prey. Mission is to preserve biological diversity through medical treatment, scientific investigation, education, and management of wild populations. Website includes info on education programs, events, publications.
• Reporting Band Recovery Information Web page describes where and how to report information from recovered banded bands. 
• Saskatchewan Redberry Pelican Project Redberry Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary, near city of Saskatoon. 
• Texas Hummingbird Roundup Backyard Survey A five-year Nongame and Urban Program run by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to learn more about the range, distribution, favored sites, and feeding habits of hummingbirds.
• Washington GAP Analysis Programs Map/distribution analysis to prioritize preservation areas by the Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.

• National Biological Service Protocols In September 1993, a workshop was held to evaluate the potential of counting birds during migration as a means of assessing population change in landbirds (organized by the Canadian Wildlife Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, now the National Biological Service). The workshop proposed formation of a "Migration Monitoring Council" to implement its recommendations. In March, 1994 the Council met and appointed two technical committees. The "Intensive Committee" is responsible for requirements of intensively operated sites such as bird observatories and banding stations. The "Extensive Committee" was charged with developing guidelines for geographically- dispersed migration counts, specifically checklist programs. This document presents the Extensive Committee's recommendation. Recommended guidelines for checklist programs.
• Sample Online Data Entry "Checklist of the birds of Illinois." The form will eventually form the front end of a birding database but cannot be used for online subsmission yet.
• Canadian Checklist Program Web page authored by Denis LePage provides an introduction to the program and includes an annotated list of birds observed in Canada. Information by state accessed from a clickable map.
• EPOQ Checklist Program A page in Denis LePage's "Birds of Quebec" website provides details of this program in French, with a link to an annotated checklist for birds observed in Quebec.
• Northern Prairie Science Center Checklists Comprehensive source of more than 300 local bird checklists.

• Barn Swallow Project initiated by the Youth and Environment Europe (YEE), a non-government youth environment network with 40 European member organizations. The project aims to track the migration of Barnswallow in Europe. Web page includes an appeal for observations to be sent in.
• Journey North An educational program by the Anneberg/CPB Math and Science Project, Minneapolis. In addition to following animals online, schools, classes and individuals can report sightings and subscribe to a mailing list for updates. Website also has archived material for the 1995 adn 1996 projects.
• Migrating Birds Know No Boundaries An interdisciplinary course of study employing advanced technology to study bird migration, based in Israel. Website offers details of the course and information on migration and tracking.
• Osprey Tracked by The Raptor Center using transmitters and satellite transmitting to learn more about their migration routes to and from South and Central America. Website includes location data and a map for 1996 data. Also has a Teacher Lesson Plan.
• Satellite Tracking Endangered Species A joint NASA and Patuxent Wildlife Research Center project. Among species tracked are Sandhill Crane, Harpy, Golden and Steppe Eagles, Website includes maps, a musical slide show, and a Fly Away Home movie segment.
• Satellite Tracking Wood Storks from Harris Neck National Wildflife Refuge in Georgia to their wintering locations in Georgia and Florida. A cooperative involving several organizations/corporations. Website gives background information and daily location maps plus links to satellite tracking programs for other animals including whales, green turtles, Malaysian elephants...
• Shorebird Sister Schools Program Web site by the Alaska Region of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Tracks Arctic nesting shorebirds as they migrate from their wintering grounds from as far south as South America, along the Pacific flyway to their nesting grounds, using daily migration updates from students along the route and maps. Site also has curriculum materials and details of upcoming shorebird festivals. 
• Shorebird Migration Website set up maintained Paul Hertzel and Rebecca Irwin with migration maps that track shorebirds as they head back to warmer climates. Maps are mainly based on data obtained from the RBAs.
• Wild Wings: Heading North A joint PBS and National Audubon society program which tracked Snow Geese by satellite on their spring journey north to Canada. Website follows the progress of a number of individual geese with regularly updated maps. Also includes a discussion forum for kids and information related to migration and tracking.