Our mission is to promote the conservation of birds through science, partnerships, and education.
In this era of rapid environmental change, it is vital to keep a pulse on wildlife populations. We need to know which species are most impacted so we can set conservation priorities. Our focus is on birds.
During spring and fall we capture birds migrating along the Atlantic Flyway and band them at our banding station at Jug End State Reservation. This allows us to monitor multiple populations at a single site. Our data shows when species pass through our area and in what numbers—letting us determine trends over time. We share our data with our government and non-profit partners to maximize its conservation impact.
Though data informs conservation efforts, working with wildlife up close provides us with unique opportunities to educate and enthrall. We welcome visitors to our banding station and leverage the wonder of a bird in the hand to inspire a love of birds and the habitats they depend on. Our banding station serves as a hub for field-based research, training, and education in our region.
In the summer we participate in collaborative projects to help understand population dynamics of our local breeding birds. We also take direct action to help recover a declining species through our Kestrel Nest Box Project.
Throughout the year we stay active in our community by giving talks and leading bird walks.
As a Berkshire-based conservation nonprofit, we aim to have a big impact locally by contributing quality data and offering unique education and training opportunities to people in our communities. Through our collaborative partnerships we are also doing our small part to support large-scale bird conservation efforts.