December 2017 and January 2018 Newsletter
Dear Members of Chairman’s Council,
Happy new year from a snow covered Sapsucker Woods — where the view is spectacular, no matter the season! If you have not seen the Lab – or if it’s been some time – I hope you will consider visiting us. We would be happy to arrange a personal tour.
Chairman’s Council Exclusive Website:
I hope you have all had a chance to visit the Chairman’s Council website. The site was created and designed for Chairman’s Council members. Some features of the new website include a full list of member benefits, recent news from the Lab, photos and biographies of leaders at the Lab, photos from past council trips, and a full list of upcoming trips and events. We will update the site on a regular basis, and I hope you will share feedback so we can continue to improve the website. Please send your feedback to Melissa Walker (mrs73@cornell.edu, 607-254-2449, or you can contact her directly through the website.
Upcoming Trips and Events:
January 18 – June 10, 2018
Birds of Paradise Exhibit, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago
February 15, 2018
Year of the Bird, Washington, DC
February 28 – March 8
Sea Cloud
March 12, 2018
Paul C. Mundinger Distinguished Lectureship featuring Rosemary Grant, Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY
March 13, 2018
Cornell Silicon Valley 2018 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA (Holger Klinck, Bioacoustic Research Program Director will be giving a Fire Side Chat)
March 31, 2018
Presentation by John Fitzpatrick at the Wood Duck Society event at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge’s Bloomington Education and Visitor Center
April 20-22, 2018
Shorebird Initiative Launch in Los Angeles (please contact Trevor Law, 607-254-2496, for more information)
June 21 – 23, 2018
Weekend at Sapsucker Woods, Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY
September 15, 2018
Migration Celebration, Ithaca, NY
October 22 – 26, 2018
Little St. Simons Island (please contact LSSI’s group sales representative, Shana Love, at 912-634-5382, or toll-free at 1-888-733-5774)
February or March 2019
Annual Chairman’s Council Trip to King Ranch in Texas
April 2019
Chairman’s Council Trip to Southern Florida for a hand’s on scientific experience
Fall 2019
Little St. Simons Island (please contact LSSI’s group sales representative, Shana Love, at 912-634-5382, or toll-free at 1-888-733-5774)
What’s New at the Lab?
Each month we feature news from around the Lab; here are a few highlights:
As some of you may know, 2018 is the Year of the Bird! We are collaborating with National Geographic, Audubon, BirdLife International and many other organizations. Each month, we will be sharing simple but important actions people can take to help birds and their habitats. I hope you will check out the website:.
Our director, John Fitzpatrick, recently participated in an On Point interview about “why birds matter” with Jonathan Franzen and David O’Neill, which was aired on January 5. I hope you enjoy the discussion: .
For those of you that were on the Chairman’s Council trip last year, you might be familiar with the location for the new BirdCam. The Lab partnered with the ecotourism company Canopy Family in Panama to establish the Panama Fruit Feeder Cam. This Cam is located on the grounds at Canopy Lodge in El Valle de Anton, Panama. Twenty different species visit the feeding platform and surrounding vegetation during the coming months.
I am thrilled to share with you locations and dates for the Bird of Prey festival screenings. There are other festival dates and locations and we will announce them as soon as they become public; please continue to visit the website and we will list them under “Upcoming Trips and Events.” Attached is an image of the Philippine Eagle featured in the film.
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
Missoula, MT
Feb 25 – Closing night film.
Bird of Prey will screen at the 850 seat Wilma Theatre in Missoula.
The festival runs from Feb 16-25, 2018, and reaches approximately 25,000-audience members/year
DCEFF
Environment Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital
Washington, DC
Mar 18, 2018 (tentative date)
The festival runs from March 15-25, 2018 and reaches more than 30,000-audience members/year.
Since July, we have been working with Meridian Institute and leaders at the Lab to create a strategic plan for the next seven years. During this process, we have interviewed staff, board members, and collaborators. From these interviews, we have identified the following five common themes: conservation, engagement, higher education, science and technology. Between now and mid-February we are engaging the full staff to provide feedback in these five areas. The goal is to use this feedback, along with all of the other information gathered, to create a strategic plan by the end of June. If you have questions or feedback that you would like to share, I encourage you to contact one of us listed below. We would love to talk to you more about the future of the Lab and gather your input.
Your Membership Impact
Each month, we are pleased to share how your annual membership gifts are making a real impact.
The Lab has begun to function as a major center for the research and application of “Big Data” in the ecological and conservation sciences. With your unrestricted support, we continue to make significant scientific strides in monitoring bird populations and advancing research in urban ecology, remote sensing, abundance modeling, and conservation impact. We are building on our success in translating data streams into valuable scientific information, including: transforming observational data gathered through eBird into precision information on species distribution, abundance, and trends; processing weather radar to estimate densities of birds during migration; and establishing microphone networks that listen for birds migrating in the night sky. We continue to advance our outreach in shaping conservation action through science by publishing peer-reviewed articles in top-tier journals. We have connected with a broad community via the web, social media, and the popular press, where millions of individuals learn about our work. Finally, we continue to partner with conservation organizations—from the National Geographic Society to the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center to The Nature Conservancy—and in doing so are having a significant impact in bird conservation.
We hope you enjoy the November/December issue of the CLUE (Cornell Lab Update Email).
Your personal contacts at the Lab:
A Lab staff listing is available on the Chairman’s Council website.
Bramble Klipple, Senior Director of Development
607-254-1105 bck42@cornell.edu
Scott Sutcliffe, Director of Individual Giving
607-254-2424 sas10@cornell.edu
Melissa Walker, Program Coordinator
607-254-2449 mrs73@cornell.edu
Thank you for everything you do to support the Lab, birds, and conservation. We so appreciate your commitment to our mission.
We look forward to working with you in the coming year, and please let us know if you are planning a visit to the Lab!
Best regards,
Bramble Klipple