TRINIDAD - MAY 2009 and NASSAU, BAHAMAS - FEBRUARY 2009 - The workshops differ in their training emphases, length of time and eligible participants. Read details about each workshop below.
1) A bird-monitoring workshop is being planned for the first two weeks of May 2009 to be held in the field at the Simla Research Station of the Asa Wright Nature Reserve in the Arima Valley of Trinidad. The workshop will feature training in mist netting, banding, bird identification, aging and sexing birds, use of point counts for monitoring populations as well as techniques for data analyses. The workshop will provide “hands-on” training to enable participants to initiate monitoring programs for their respective organizations. Once participants are trained they will be asked to initiate monitoring programs for their home organizations and serve as leaders for advancing bird conservation in their areas of responsibility.
The workshop organizers invite enquires and applications from persons with an interest in participating from Cuba, Jamaica, Guyana, Surinam, and the Dominican Republic as well as Trinidad and Tobago. English will be the language of instruction so at least a moderate level of English comprehension will be required. Participants are expected to have basic bird watching skills, as well as some previous field experience relating to conservation or ecological studies. Travel funds will be provided for those participants residing outside of Trinidad & Tobago. The workshop will be sponsored by the Asa Wright Nature Center along with other partners from Trinidad & Tobago, as well as International Programs of the U.S. Forest Service, the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB), the Klamath Bird Observatory, and the North American Banding Council. Those with an interest in participating in the workshop should submit a resume summarizing relevant wildlife-related experiences and training, a letter of interest stating why they wish to participate in the workshop as well as a statement of their interests in initiating and maintaining a bird monitoring program in their home territory, and a list of three references and their e-mail addresses. Applications and queries should be submitted to Dr. Joseph M. Wunderle.
2)The Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB) is pleased to announce that it will be hosting a week-long Bird Monitoring Training Workshop, 19-23 February 2009 in Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas, at The Retreat (Bahamas National Trust Headquarters). The goal is to support science-based conservation planning and adaptive management by encouraging long-term bird monitoring programmes. The emphasis will be on providing practical training in simple, standard protocols for monitoring landbirds, waterbirds, seabirds and shorebirds (and their habitats) and promoting the formation of a coordinated regional monitoring network through which standard protocols are developed, and information shared and used to support local and regional conservation efforts.
The course will include the following topics: 1) how to design and implement a bird monitoring programme, 2) field training in basic protocols for monitoring landbirds, waterbirds, seabirds, shorebirds, and species of concern (e.g., parrots), 3) protocol for monitoring IBAs (Important Bird Areas), 4) how to store and analyze monitoring data, 5) how to present monitoring results in a format appropriate for decision-makers and managers, and 6) adaptive management and guidelines for application of monitoring results to natural resource management, including case studies.
The workshop is open to interested persons from all Caribbean islands. It will be conducted in English, therefore applicants should be able to communicate reasonably well in that language. Preference will be given to persons who are working with government agencies or NGOs in Caribbean protected areas (e.g. national parks, forest reserves, Ramsar sites, IBAs) or other areas of importance for birds, and either currently involved in long-term bird monitoring or interested in establishing bird monitoring programs. Travel and subsistence funding will be provided for selected participants.
The workshop will be funded by the Organization of American States, Western Hemisphere Migratory Species Initiative (WHMSI) and the US Office of Migratory Bird Management. Other partners and collaborators include the U.S. Forest Service, Klamath Bird Observatory, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, The Nature Conservancy, BirdLife International, USDA International Institute of Tropical Forestry, Wetlands International, the National Aviary, the Bahamas National Trust, and others.
If you are interested in attending, please complete the application form (click here to download) and email it to Dr. Ann Sutton by 4 December 2008. Please note that spaces are limited, therefore it is not possible to guarantee that all applicants will be invited to the workshop.
Contact persons: Dr. Ann Sutton and Dr. Lisa Sorenson.