Celebrate Urban Birds Updates

Find out the latest Celebrate Urban Birds news by reading regular updates sent to all Celebrate Urban Birds! participants via email.

I’ve never met a black bird watcher before!”
Biologist, author, and birder John C. Robinson says he’s heard that a lot over the years. It got him wondering why there were so few minorities involved with birding. It’s a topic he explores in his new book Birding for Everyone, Encouraging People of Color to Become Birdwatchers. Watch our video to learn more about how Robinson got hooked on science and bird watching. View video here.

Little Green Places Photo/Video/Art Contest
Our second photo/video/art contest ended on October 31. View contest entries.

Urban Gardening. Find resources to garden for the birds in cities. City residents can create quality food and water resources, shelter, and nesting sites for birds in small spaces, often at little cost. Poster will be ready soon!

 

Find inspiration in the arts! Watch Pedro Fernandes as he illustrates a new poster for NestWatch a new Cornell Lab of Ornithology citizen science project. Watch the video

Bird and Nature Blogging Learn how to create your own blog and learn about great nature blogs. Blogging is a great way to let people know what you've been seeing and how you feel about birds, gardening, and anything else you might think of.  

Pigeon Neighbors by Decoy. Check out a fantastic art activity that gets you looking at birds, connecting with nature, building community spirit, and is fun! Decoy, a wonderful artist from Washington, DC created the activity and presents this neat project  to get your whole neighborhood thinking about birds, community, and the arts. Learn more!

 

 

Pigeon scrapbook

Susan Kerslake is from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada created a beautiful scrapbook inspired by the arrival of an egg. Page through her wonderful book.

"Beautiful Birds in Urban Places".
Marian Mendez was the first place winner of the Beautiful Birds in Urban Places Photo Contest. View winning photos. Many thanks to Leica Camera, North America, Inc. for their donation of a camera for our First Prize Winner.

Science in the City
Is it possible that observing a pigeon with curious and open eyes could change our world or a child's future? Could the antics of roosting crows make a difference? Find out more about how people everywhere are connecting to nature and science through birds..

The Great Sunflower Project
Bees are responsible for pollinating a lot of food plants.  We know that some bees have had severe declines which may be affecting food production.  No one has ever measured how much pollination is happening over a region, much less a continent so, we don't know anything about how these declines in bees influence gardens.  The only way to do this is to get as many people as possible collecting information from as many places as possible.  You can help. 

YouTube Bird Girl
Watch Bird Girl in Ithaca NY asking Youtubers to get out of the house this cold winter to take videos of the weirdest, ugliest, most bizarre places they've seen birds in their cities and towns!

Celebrate Urban Birds Workshop 2008
We held a Celebrate Urban Birds Workshop on March 14th 8-3pm at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Participants learned how to Celebrate Urban Birds  in their neighborhoods, integrate the arts, and  gardening.

Artist Wanted 2008!  Artists are invited to submit exciting out-of-the-box ideas to be considered for our “Wild Idea” competition in both adult and youth categories.

Kids Count: Young Citizens Learn Environmental Activism
Read a wonderful article by Evantheia Schibsted in Edutopia Magazine for educators. Learn how students are becoming the eyes and ears of environmental scientists.

Go out and Play!
Celebrate Urban Birds is a great excuse to get kids outdoors! Learn about a national movement that is drawing attention to kids and nature.

European Starlings Fighting
Watch an remarkable slide show from the Monterey County Herald slide show Photos by Orville Myers.

A Powerfully Simple Idea
“Celebrate Urban Birds!” provides impetus for international projects.

Starlings In Art

A recent article in Orion magazine caught our eye, as it mixed science and art in a fanciful way. 

The Pigeon Paradox

Could pigeons and other common species provide one of the keys to global conservation awareness?

Celebrate Urban Birds at Central Park

Cornell Cooperative Extension, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and Central Park Conservancy celebrated urban birds at the Harlem Meer and Dana Discovery Center on May 12th.

Artist Found!

Celebrate Urban Birds partners with Katie Yamasaki.

2006 Workshop a Success

Cornell Lab of Ornithology holds a Celebrate Urban Birds! planning and training workshop in December.

Photo by Robert Barker, University Photography