Breaking news - TWO Maryland bird counts start tomorrow!

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Bill Hubick

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Jul 31, 2022, 1:00:11 PM7/31/22
to William Hubick, Jim Brighton, John Hall
Hi Everyone!

As key stakeholders and supporters of Maryland Biodiversity Project (MBP), you're hearing it here first! MBP and our sponsors like Maryland Ornithological Society (MOS) and SAFI are kicking off two - yes, TWO (!!!) - Maryland bird counts tomorrow. Some initial details follow. We'd love any support you can provide to keep these efforts fueled for this year and years to come. You can donate via the "Donate" buttons at either of the brand-new links below. 

Turkey Point (2022)

Dans Rock (2022)

Building on the success of the Turkey Point Bird Count last year, we are kicking off the second year at Turkey Point and adding the first Dans Rock Bird Count in Allegany County. We're also working on publishing the impressive results of last year's count.

For the first time ever, there will be concurrent morning flight counts on the Atlantic coastal plain (Cape May, New Jersey), at Turkey Point at the top of the Chesapeake Bay, and in the Appalachian region at Dans Rock in Allegany County. Last year's count yielded invaluable data that is loaded with insights about East Coast migration. With each successive year of these counts, the value will compound and teach us more about bird migration, bird populations, and how birds respond to all the dynamic variables that affect them along the way. Birds are arguably our clearest window into ecosystem health. We are excited to continue increasing our understanding of their amazing migrations.

A big welcome to Jonathan and Carl!  Jonathan Irons is leading the Turkey Point Bird Count and Carl Engstrom is leading the new Dans Rock Bird Count. Thanks in advance to Daniel Irons, Jerald Reb, Jim Stasz, Jim Brighton, Dan Small, and others ensuring a smooth kickoff. 

It's been a TON of work getting the final logistics locked in, and we are so grateful to the many folks who helped us explore housing options when we were thrown repeated curveballs. Special thanks to Sean McCandless, Kevin Dodge, and Marcia Watson who all knocked loose key parts of our housing solutions. Whew!

We are all set for an amazing, groundbreaking season, but the challenging housing market and some surprises have us running a bit "hot". Any donations would be especially helpful at this moment. Anything helps, but for anyone interested, you can read about becoming an official sponsor or key supporter here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12sJV781Rw1WTMXzCONavDmjK5fd4dWQR1HKzbCWLgnU/. Monthly donations and sponsorships like these help us think bigger and bolder about what else we can accomplish together.

We'll be posting updates regularly on the MBP blog and social media (Facebook and Instagram). The live data will be visible for both counts on Trektellen starting tomorrow and daily reports will be available in eBird. Thanks to MBP developer Jacqueline Palacios for beautiful work on these special project pages and to MBP editor Zoë Adams for work on the MBP blog. 

Thanks, everyone! Together we are constantly breaking new ground and doing more good for regional biodiversity conservation.

Here are those links again. Live bird numbers will be streaming via Trektellen tomorrow!


Bill and the MBP team

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