Bird Conservation: Our Common Mission

By John W. Fitzpatrick
Louis Agassiz Fuertes Director

Sandhill Cranes by Francis Lee Jaques

One hundred and fifty years ago, Passenger Pigeons still migrated over this very spot by the tens of millions twice each year. Thousands of Eskimo Curlews descended on New England blueberry fields each fall, and on black earth prairies of the Great Plains each spring. Had there been a Laboratory of Ornithology back then, we might still be seeing spectacular flocks of these now-extinct birds today. In its largest sense, our fundamental mission is simple: conserve the earth’s precious natural areas and species, their processes and interactions, and their evolutionary potential. We approach our mission by studying, teaching about, conserving, and celebrating earth’s most beautiful and powerful messengers of nature. Birds connect us with nature. They help us understand how nature functions and what it requires to persist in the face of change. We study endangered birds to keep them from going extinct, but just as important, we study our backyard birds in order to keep common birds common. Ultimately, we seek to maintain the underlying natural systems upon which all our birds depend. This is the essence of conservation.

The Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology is unique in the world. Every day we unite internationally recognized scientists with students of all ages and citizens of all occupations. We embrace and cherish the notion that science is not an exercise for the ivory tower; it is simply an organized way of being curious about how nature works. Everybody is born with this curiosity, hence we share our explorations with millions of citizens around the world, helping them enjoy the wonders of our living planet. At the same time that we provide resources to help people explore, we also seek the knowledge that emerges from countless observations in backyards, neighborhood parks, school grounds, cemeteries, and woodlots.

A venerable and maturing backyard surrounds our own new home. Sapsucker Woods beckons to us every day. We now live and work in a very special laboratory indeed, named for a wonderful woman who has embraced nature all of her life and who inspires us to understand and teach it to every audience. Our home will always be here for you to visit, and you will gain great inspiration if you do so. But, as Gene Johnson can attest, some of the biggest inspirations of all emerge from your own special places. They beckon to you to explore them further. For generations to come, the Laboratory of Ornithology will use the most modern resources available to help you explore, appreciate, and protect our earth’s most beautiful and timeless living inhabitants.