[obol] Bonding With Birds - Volunteers Needed

[Cindy Ashy]

OBOL,

I hope some of you will be interested in participating. Press release below. 

Cindy Ashy

Bonding With Birds, an exciting new program modeled in part after Whale
Watching Spoken Here, is looking for volunteers. The program will follow the
breeding season of 6 species of seabirds nesting at Yaquina Head and will run
for 10 consecutive Saturdays from May 5 - July 7. This is the most spectacular
time of the year to be at Yaquina Head with over 50,000 murres gathered on the
rock formations. It is amazing to watch the intriguing courtship rituals of the
gulls, cormorants, murres, and oystercatchers. Then watch them mate, build
their nests, guard their eggs, and raise their chicks. Yaquina Head offers some
of the best opportunities on the coast to observe these birds up close and
personal. Anyone watching will become enthralled by how these beautiful birds
deal with life on an ocean sea cliff. The sound of 50,000 murres laughing and
the gulls' mating calls blend with the soothing sounds of ocean surf to create
an exhilarating symphony of nature. How they gather materials for their nests,
how they find food for themselves and their chicks, and how they defend their
territories and chicks from intruders and predators will impress anyone
witnessing these events. It's a fun hangout for birds and people alike.
 
Volunteers will also be trained to watch for Bald Eagle attacks on these
seabird colonies. Eagles are major predators of these nesting birds and for the
last several years predictably make several attempts a day. A drama unfolds
when eagles attack and battalions of gutsy gulls launch an aerial
counter-attack to chase the eagle away and the whole sky is filled with birds.
 
Training for volunteers is Friday April 27, from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm and
Saturday April 28, from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. If you can not attend the Friday
session due to work, you can still volunteer. You do not need to be a birder to
participate and all the training you will need to participate in the program
will be provided for free. Training will include time with Michael Noack, an
extraordinary naturalist and retired chief ranger/manager from the Bureau of
Land Management at Yaquina Head. Training will also include time with Dawn
Grafe, an avid birder and supervisory park ranger with US Fish and Wildlife.
Both have a special passion for nature and an infectious way of passing that
on. The training will be fun and will include slide presentations, fieldtrips,
and interactive hands-on activities.
 
To receive the free training and participate in the program, volunteers are
asked to commit to a minimum of two of the ten Saturdays. The shifts will be 3
hours, from 10:00 am - 1:00 pm. Some volunteers will enjoy volunteering more
than two Saturdays to follow the breeding season of the seabirds more closely.
 
The program is being spearheaded by the Lincoln County Sustainability Coalition
with the Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife, and the Oregon Coast
Aquarium as partners. For more information or to sign up to volunteer, please
contact Cindy Ashy, program coordinator, 541-270-0588, tunicate89 at yahoo.com, or
Maureen Doherty, volunteer coordinator, 541-764-8949, mdoherty48 at gmail.com.
Both phone numbers are local to Lincoln County.
 
Please forward this message to anyone you think would be interested.
Thank you.


 
____________________________________________________________________________________
Sucker-punch spam with award-winning protection. 
Try the free Yahoo! Mail Beta.
http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/features_spam.html