April 2019 Newsletter

Dear Members of Chairman’s Council,

Greetings from Sapsucker Woods!

Space is still available, if you would like to attend the 2019 Cape May trip. A link to this trip is listed below.

As always, please let us know if you are interested in visiting the Lab – we would love to arrange a personal tour!

Upcoming Trips and Events:
May 2, 2019 – Jane Kim Presentation at the Lab
May 4, 2019 – Global Big Day
September 25-29, 2019 – Chairman’s Council Trip to Cape May, NJ
October 2019 – Little St. Simons Island
October 9-19, 2019 – Galapagos
January 23 – February 2, 2020 – Chairman’s Council Trip to the Amazon (trip is sold out)
Fall 2020 – Chairman’s Council Trip (location TBD)
Spring 2021 – Chairman’s Council Trip to Costa Rica

Recent News from Around the Lab
For three consecutive nights, Monday, April 29 – Wednesday, May 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings) and Facebook live, Nature: American Spring LIVE presents the change from winter to spring in real time from iconic locations across America. Bird Cams Lab is slated to be featured on Monday, and Celebrate Urban Birds and Andrew Farnsworth on Tuesday. The Facebook broadcasts will have moderated discussions with Lab staff participating when relevant to our projects. After the broadcasts, the full episodes will be available for free for 28 days on Facebook, the PBS website, and the PBS Video app.

We recently published two more studies that further highlight the importance and complexity of the hazards of light pollution (Nocturnal flight-calling behaviour predicts vulnerability to artificial light in migratory birds and Bright lights in the big cities: migratory birds’ exposure to artificial light).

In March, six Lab staff members from the Bioacoustics Research Program and Macaulay Library held the first-ever Sound Recording & Analysis Workshop in India. The workshop was organized and hosted by partners at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Tirupati. Twenty-five people from all over India, primarily grad students, participated. They came to learn from Lab experts how to make better recordings of birds and other animals, and how to use software developed at the Lab to extract scientifically useful data from the recordings. The event was even picked up by The Hindu newspaper.

The workshop in India reflects the Lab’s commitment to building local capacity for applied and basic research and conservation around the world, especially in regions of high biodiversity. Our visit has planted seeds of future collaboration between scientists at the Lab and in India: two students who participated in the workshop will be working as interns at the Lab this summer, and discussions are underway about future opportunities for joint research and training projects.

Just a reminder, Global Big Day is on May 4, 2019. If you haven’t seen the video message from Chris Wood, Team Sapsucker, I hope you will take a minute to meet him and other members of the Big Day teams.

Impact Statement
Each month, we are pleased to share how your annual gifts are making a real impact.

Celebrate Urban Birds (CUBS) makes a powerful difference in the lives of low-income youth by connecting them to nature, in ways unavailable to them in urban and underserved areas, and highlights careers in conservation science. We’ve brought more than 500 low-income inner-city youth and community leaders to the Lab over the last five years. We provide full scholarships for youth to attend these workshops and experience nature.

Below are quotes from past student participants:

“I loved it every time even more… each part of the workshop woke up in me the desire to discover new things, to move to action, to dream, but with the certainty that those dreams and plans (for the future) can become true.”

“The workshop overcame my expectations; it has been one of the most enlightening and inspiring experiences that I have ever had. Thank you for this opportunity!”

Our evaluation results show that:

Following the workshop, participants have increased interest and confidence in attending a university and pursuing a science career.
They experience a change in perception regarding what science is, what it might be like to attend university, what they can do with their lives, and how they can have an impact in their neighborhoods.
We have seen significant evidence that the workshops increase leadership skills of the youth participants.

The feature image is a recent group of CUBS participants.

More updates and information from the Lab can be found on the Chairman’s Council website or you can contact me directly (melissa.walker@cornell.edu or 607-254-2118).

For other news around the Lab, please see our March staff newsletter (The CLUE).

Your personal contacts at the Lab:
A Lab staff listing is available on the Chairman’s Council website.

Mary Guthrie, Director of Major Gifts
607-254-2157 or msg21@cornell.edu

Melissa Walker, Program Coordinator
607-254-2118 or melissa.walker@cornell.edu

Thank you for everything you do to support the Lab, birds, and conservation. We so appreciate your commitment to our mission.

We hope to see you at an upcoming event or trip!

Best regards,

Melissa