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Welcome to On the Wing, WHC’s online source to information on nest monitoring. Members will find interesting management techniques and important issues in the world of bird conservation. If your site has an interesting management technique or nesting-related educational program that you would like to highlight, please mail your information and pictures to WHC’s main office. WHC would love to highlight your program and share the key to your success with other nest monitoring sites.

Stop by our Directory of Resources for more information.

Statistics from 2007
Total Checklists Submitted: 81,203
Total Species Observed: 631
Total Individual Birds Counted: 11,082,387
Updated: April 30, 2007

Save the Date!
Great Backyard Count
February 15-18, 2008

In 2007, Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) participants made history, breaking records for number of birds reported, number of species, and number of checklists. In just four days in February, participants in the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) tallied more than 11 million birds across the United States and Canada. Together, they recorded 616 species and submitted more than 80,000 checklists—33 percent more than the previous high of 61,000 checklists in 2000. The GBBC, a joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, engages people of all ages and levels of experience in learning about birds and reporting their sightings for conservation. Read more!

The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts. It takes as little as 15 minutes. It’s free, fun, and easy—and it helps the birds.

People of all ages, from beginners to experts, are invited to join this event, which spans all of the United States and Canada. Participants can take part wherever they are – at home, in schoolyards, at local parks or wildlife refuges. Observers simply count the highest number of each species they see during an outing or a sitting, and enter their tally on the Great Backyard Bird Count Web site at www.birdsource.org/gbbc.

By participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count, you help document where birds are, and track changes in their numbers compared to previous years, helping scientists paint a picture of the state of birds this winter.

New to birding or need to brush up on your skills? Check out our new Birding Basics for tips and resources to help prepare you for this event.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a nonprofit membership institution interpreting and conserving the earth’s biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds.

Audubon is dedicated to protecting birds and other wildlife and the habitat that supports them. Our national network of community-based nature centers and chapters, scientific and educational programs, and advocacy on behalf of areas sustaining important bird populations, engage millions of people of all ages and backgrounds in conservation.

The 108th Christmas Bird Count
 December 14th 2007 to January 5th 2008
The tradition continues of counting birds across the Americas 

National Audubon Society’s longest-running wintertime tradition, the annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) took place throughout the Americas from December 14, 2006 to January 5, 2007. Tens of thousands of volunteer birders both braved stormy conditions in the west, and counted in absurdly mild conditions in the east on their respective count days. 

Children are our future, and it is with in mind that the Mississippi Coast Audubon Society, Audubon Mississippi, and their partners and sponsors have developed the Mississippi Classroom Activity Kit. The materials included in this kit are provided to assist K-12 teachers in introducing students of all ages to the wonderful world of wildlife in their backyards. Many of the suggested activities and materials also support Audubon's Great Backyard Bird Count.

Developed by a dedicated group of teachers, educators and Audubon members, this kit provides suggest activities for students in each of five age groups (K-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8. 9-12th grades), all of which support the Mississippi Framework Standards for all subject areas. As much as possible, these activities were also designed to carry themes through multiple grade levels and provide opportunities for multidisciplinary study. The list should be used as a menu of opportunities to meet competencies.

This kit can be used by facilities that participate in a environmental education and/or Corporate Lands for Learning program.

Individuals and corporations can help to protect the future of birds by ensuring that adequate habitat exists in their own backyard. Measures that benefit birds include:

• Reducing and/or carefully monitoring the use of pesticides,           
• Planting native trees and shrubs that provide food and cover,           
• Breaking up the reflection on the outside of the window with a non-reflective window coating, window screens, flash tape or bird netting to minimize lethal window collisions by migratory birds (98 to 976 million birds per year), and           
• Reducing depredation by keeping cats indoors, and supporting smart land-use planning that addresses the needs of wildlife.

An eastern bluebird enjoys its meal on a nest box.

Amongst the purple coneflowers, sits a goldfinch.

Photos by Terry Stanfill
American Electric Power Company, Flint Creek Power Plant

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