Chat Rooms for Celebrate Urban Birds!

Salas chat para ¡Celebra las Aves Urbanas!

To participate in the Chat Rooms, read instructions below.

Click here to go to the chat rooms

Here's what to do to log in to the chat rooms:

Go to www.blackboard.cornell.edu
Click "Log In"
Click "Create" to create a new user account
Once created, click the tab "All Blackboard Sites" at top
In the Course Search box type "celebrate"
Click "Enroll" button for "Celebrate Urban Birds!"
Confirm by clicking "Submit"
Then follow these instructions

1. Click on the course: Urban Bird Studies: Celebrate Urban Birds! in the "My Courses" box at the top right (for some reason, clicking on the Chat Room link will not work so don't click on that).
2. Click on "Collaboration" under Chat Rooms in the announcements.
3. Click "JOIN" for the chat room you wish to join. This will open a second window after a brief pause. HINT: Do not close the other Blackboard window or your chat session will end.
4. If your javascript isn't working, the plug-in should load automatically--if not, follow the instructions on the screen. (This takes about one minute on a T1 line. I got impatient so had to install it myself but I've seen it load quite easily for most people.)
5. Click on the button to enlarge the window so that you can see the whole page.
6. Commence the chat.
7. To view the chat, click "Archives" then click on the linked name

If you have technical difficulties, please email your questions with as much detail as possible, including your operating system (PC or Mac) and browser version (for example: InternetExplorer 6.0.2, look under the help menu in your browser), to: UBSTechSupport@cornell.edu.

BRIEF BIOS of LAB STAFF

Rick Bonney is the Lab's director of Education. He designed and developed many of the Lab's current citizen-science projects. Some of his research focuses on how to use inquiry-based science education in classrooms.

David Bonter has studied bird migration for a decade, banding more than 10,000 birds of more than 100 species. Dave is currently studying backyard birds as the project leader for Project FeederWatch, and is amazed by what people can see and learn by watching bird feeders.

Caren Cooper is a research associate in the Bird Population Studies program. She is studying incubation with the help of citizen scientists across the country. Each participant receives tiny button-sized data collectors that can be placed in bluebird nests to measure egg temperatures.

John Fitzpatrick has been Director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology since 1995. In 1985, "Fitz" received the Brewster Award, the American Ornithologists' Union highest research honor, for his research on the endangered Florida Scrub-Jay. He enjoys watercolor painting and has been a birdwatcher since kindergarten.

Eduardo Iñigo-Elias es investigador asociado y coordinador del Programa de Conservación de Aves en el Neotropico. Su trabajo de postgrado ha sido sobre la ecología y conservación de loros y guacamayas (Psittaciformes) así como con aves de presa (Falconiformes) tropicales. Por más de 20 años el ha estudiado guacamayas y aves de presa así como trabajado en distintos aspectos de conservación en las selvas tropicales de México, Guatemala y Cuba.

Mindy LaBranche coordinates Urban Bird Studies and has always been interested in birds. Mindy's research has ranged from reproduction of an endangered species to basic ecology of common city pigeons.

Irby Lovette is the director of Evolutionary Biology. Using DNA techniques, Irby studies how different species are related to one another (phylogeny) and how dispersal and other behaviors affect the spread of genes through populations.

Kevin McGowan is interested in just about everything to do with birds, but has been specializing in the social behavior and general biology of American and Fish crows for the last 18 years. Kevin is a research associate in the education program and writes the content for the All About Birds web site.

Jason Mobley is a reasearch associate and instructor of the Lab's Home Study Course in Bird Biology. For more than 10 years, Jason has studied Tyrant Flycatchers (Tyrannidae) throughout the Americas, including observing flycatchers catch and eat flying insects.

Tina Phillips is project leader for The Birdhouse Network, a citizen-science project aimed at the study and conservation of cavity-nesting birds. She also manages the very popular Nest Box Cams, a set of web-based cameras placed inside nest boxes during the breeding season.

Mike Powers has been fascinated by bird behavior for as long as he can remember, and has studied parental care in bluebirds. Mike coordinates eBird, a project designed to track the distribution and abundance of all species, but his interest in parental care recently resurfaced with the arrival of his first child.

Karen Purcell trabaja en Estudios de Aves Urbanas y el Proyecto Palomas. Enfoca en adiestramiento, apoyo de participantes y grupos, y difusión comunitaria. Ella nació y vivió 16 años en Chile. Ha trabajado en escuelas publicas y privadas con grupos de todas edades.

Ron Rohrbaugh is director of Citizen Science. Ron has studied the nesting biology and habitats of American Kestrels, Northern Harriers, and several small grassland birds.

Jen Schaus is project leader of Classroom BirdWatch. She has worked as an informal science educator, and in both teacher professional development and curriculum development.

Elliott Swarthout coordinates the fieldwork for the Lab's intensive study of disease in House Finches in Ithaca, NY.

Diane Tessaglia-Hymes has been senior graphic designer at the Lab since 1998, and is responsible for the design of nearly all Lab printed materials, including BirdScope, Classroom BirdScope, and the Urban Bird Studies printed materials. When not designing for the Lab, she enjoys birding with her family.

Allison Wells has a lifelong history of keeping lists of birds anywhere she could record them, including on the backs of matchbooks and grocery receipts. Allison is director of Communications and Marketing and editor of the Lab's Birder's Life List and Diary.