Our new Photo-Video-Art Challenge just in time for Halloween

Please post our flyers in your community:

English:  http://www.birds.cornell.edu/celebration/promote/MurderOfCrowsFlyer_090902.pdf

Spanish: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/celebration/desafios/Los%20Pajaros.pdf

 What’s the contest all about?

Getting people outside! Participants take a photo, cell phone image, record a sound, create some artwork, shoot video, write a story or a poem, or create a sculpture. The  idea is to  show birds looking bossy, strange, spooky, or doing things that just don't seem to have any explanation.

 Win great prizes: Binoculars, CDs, books, posters, plush birds with bird calls inside, and more. The first 50 entries will receive a copy of our "Corvid Behaviors" poster illustrated by Pedro Fernandes

Learn more: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/celebration/challenge/a-murder-of-crows-and-other-spooky-bird-tales

Deadline is October 31st

View story entries by clicking here

View photo entries by clicking here

Read explanations of strange bird behavior here

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In this e-newsletter we are highlighting three wonderful mini-grant events (more to come in future e-newsletters).

: Wisconsin Youth Company's “Urban Bird Day” was a wonderful success. Activities included the arts, bird walks, making recycled bird feeders, and planting seeds. The celebration continued throughout the summer and into the fall, focusing on birds at family nights, after schools, camps, and outdoor education programs.

Mariah Miller, Community Outreach and Events Coordinator, reports: “All of this has sparked a lot of interest in birds for our staff. The building now has birdfeeders out front, as does our west side building. The youth center kids keep them filled and are really excited about their bird sightings.”

To learn more and view pictures please go to: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/celebration/community/Spotlight/2009-minigrants/wisconsin-youth-company-inc

: Residents of the Avimor Community, near Boise, Idaho, hosted their Celebrate Urban Birds event on Saturday, May 16, at Foothills Heritage Park. About 40 children, plus parents, participated in a great variety of activities and projects set up at stations around the park. Their activities included: art projects, a bird walk, data collection, wildlife-sustaining planting activity, and live music. They have generously created coloring pages for each of our 15 focal species and would love to share them with others.

To view the Avimor Celebration and download the coloring pages please visit:

 http://www.birds.cornell.edu/celebration/community/Spotlight/2009-minigrants/avimor-community

On June 13 Windsor Library created a community, arts and nature festival with events and activities including a mini-talk on Rachel Carson’s classic Silent Spring, as well as  activities such as ”eat like a bird”, based on the shape of the bird beak, creating a bird garden,  learning how to use binoculars, how to photograph birds, collecting citizen-science data, making a bird mural for hanging on the library wall, and meeting live birds.

Participants also made bird bombs. Do you know what a “bird bomb” is? It is a feeder made of bird seed, clay and compost!

 The program also included making bird houses and gardening.

To learn more about the event, please visit: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/celebration/community/Spotlight/2009-minigrants/windsor-park

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Join Chicago’s Bronzeville Historical Society on Sunday, October 18,  1:00 pm to 3:00 pm for the pilot program “Birding for Beginners: How to Make Your Yard Friendly for Birds” at Pullman State  Historic Site. Learn more: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/celebration/community/chicago/

Twenty-six percent of Whites compared to six percent of African Americans participate in birding. The Bronzeville Historical Society is committed to bringing bird conservation opportunities to all at the Pullman State Historic Site through creative and collaborative partnerships. The Bronzeville Historical Society’s mission is to preserve, provide, and protect black history of Chicago.

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Check out our exciting Facebook page and become a fan. You’ll see fun photos submitted by participants, get links to up-to-date information on fun research that educators and families can use  in their efforts to connect to the outdoors, get book recommendations, and be the first to hear about mini-grant opportunities, challenges, and more.

Join our NEW Facebook group so you can easily share photos, events, and ideas. Help us make it a great success!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Celebrate-Urban-Birds/71397573269

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/celebratebirds

Share your photos and videos with us through Flickr:  http://www.flickr.com/groups/879465@N25/

Are you a savvy social networker? Do you want to help us keep up with our sites? Were looking for volunteers to help us!

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If you couldn’t attend the “Breaking the Color Barrier in the Great Outdoors” conference in September, become a fan of their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Atlanta-GA/Breaking-the-Color-Barrier-in-the-Great-American-Outdoors/119725816531?ref=mf. The group was formed after the groundbreaking event to showcase the broad diversity among Americans who are committed activists, protecting our environment, conserving our natural treasures, and performing extraordinary feats of personal accomplishment in the "great outdoors."

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We’d love your feedback! The brochure will have two sides, one for families/youth and the other for educators. It contains original artwork by Sabine Freiermuth, an intern here at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

View some of her incredible sketches and weigh in on the conversation: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=113970&id=71397573269&saved#/pages/Celebrate-Urban-Birds/71397573269

When we field tested the brochure with high school youth, they loved the images but were not so keen on the words we had chosen to accompany the illustrations (preachy, boring, unnecessary). So we are re-thinking our wording!

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We Really Need Your Help to Keep Going!

Please donate! More than 80 percent of the organizations we work with are reaching under-represented audiences and people who are new to birds. For every kit we give to someone who has not had the opportunity to connect with nature, we get a bit closer to creating a world that cares about conserving and interacting with nature. It's good for kids, it's good for families, it's good for seniors, it's good for birds! We promote healthier neighborhoods, habitat improvement for birds, getting kids outdoors, and connecting everyone with nature.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/celebration/donate

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Please feel free to forward this message to anyone you think would be interested. Anyone can sign up to receive updates by registering for Celebrate Urban Birds or by sending us an email at urbanbirds@cornell.edu.