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2013 BIGGEST
WEEK IN AMERICAN BIRDING
A ROUSING SUCCESS!
By all estimations, the
2013 Biggest Week was a smashing success! Record numbers
of people registered, and they came from 46 states and
at least 13 countries! More than 200 volunteers worked
together to make the event run smoothly, the weather was
spectacular, and the birds did their part, too,
delighting and dazzling people who traveled here from
all over the world! The event also raised thousands of
dollars to support local bird research, education, and
conservation, and brought together an astounding number
of partners and sponsors.
Our sincere thanks to all of our wonderful volunteers,
to our co-hosts at Destination Toledo and Lake Erie
Shores and Islands, and a special thanks to Patrick
Czarny and his outstanding staff at Maumee Bay Lodge and
Conference Center! We'd also like to thank our sponsors
for their support of the festival.
BSBO AND BIGGEST WEEK IN AMERICAN
BIRDING
TO BE FEATURED ON NATIONAL TELEVISION!
BSBO
and The Biggest Week In American Birding will be
featured on CBS News Sunday Morning THIS SUNDAY, May
26th in a segment about birdwatching. On-air
correspondent Serena Altschul interviewed BSBO Executive
Director Kimberly Kaufman and volunteers Tom Kashmer and
Drew Lanham! The crew joined us for a stroll on the
Magee Marsh boardwalk and also filmed one of our canoe
trips with Sandusky County Parks! Check your local
listing for air times.
TOM
BARTLETT'S BIG SIT BREAKS EDUCATION FUNDRAISING RECORD!
Thanks to the tremendous
efforts of longtime BSBO member and volunteer Tom
Bartlett, the generous support from donors across the
country, and the $5000 matching gift from an anonymous
donor, this year Tom's BIG SIT for BSBO education
programs set a new record and raised more than $11,000!
Our sincere admiration and appreciation to Tom for his
dedication to BSBO and education, and to all the donors
who supported his efforts. We will be able to reach
hundreds of young people in the coming year with these
precious funds! If you forgot to make your pledge, it's
not too late to send in a donation! Call BSBO at
419-898-4070 or make a payment via our secure online
PayPal account
HERE.
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BSBO PARTNERS
WITH
CORNELL LAB OF ORNITHOLOGY
TO DEVELOP
THE YOUNG BIRDERS NETWORK!
The
Young Birders Network
aims to provide resources for young birders to connect
and learn, while giving their adult advocates resources
to
encourage and support.
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BSBO and
RESPONSIBLE WIND ENERGY
Breaking News: BSBO has just learned of ANOTHER wind
turbine scheduled for installation only a few miles from
Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, deep in the heart of critical
migratory bird stopover habitat along the lake shore. We
learned of this turbine from private citizens; even the
wildlife agencies weren't aware of it until we brought
it to their attention. We are still working to find out
how this turbine could be nearly ready for installation
without any wildlife review whatsoever. We'll keep
you posted.
BSBO is currently working to convince officials to
relocate a large-scale wind turbine proposed for
installation at the Camp Perry facility on the Lake Erie
shoreline. Based on more than 30 years of studies of
songbirds, raptors, and shorebirds in this area, we
believe that this project poses a significant threat to
migratory birds (including multiple endangered species)
and to the resident Bald Eagles on the site.
Read more on concerns about this project’s location
HERE.
BSBO submitted a letter to officials at Camp Perry and
to Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur. Many organizations signed
on in support of our position. They include, American Bird
Conservancy, American Birding Association, League of Ohio Sportsmen, Grange Insurance
Audubon Center, Black Swamp Conservancy, Ohio
Ornithological Society, Ohio Wetlands Association,
Indiana Audubon Society, Toledo Naturalists’
Association, Greater
Mohican Audubon Society, and Kelleys Island Audubon.
READ BSBO’S LETTER TO OFFICIALS
HERE
The following
organizations also wrote independent letters in support
of our position on this project. The include: National
Audubon Society, American Birding Association, The
Nature Conservancy, Ohio Environmental Council, Ottawa
County Visitors' Bureau, Ducks Unlimited
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Ohio
Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) have also
expressed serious concerns about a wind turbine in this
location. Their comments on the Environmental Assessment
for the project (conducted by an outside consulting
firm) are found below.
READ COMMENTS FROM USFWS ON THE PROJECT
HERE
READ COMMENTS FROM ODNR ON THE PROJECT
HERE
Click
HERE for an
editorial piece about this issue by Matt Markey, Outdoors Editor
for the Toledo Blade.
Citizen action
can have an enormous impact and we encourage you to
support our efforts in two ways.
1) Write a letter to Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur
Click
HERE for a sample
letter. Just copy and paste the letter (remember to
delete the words "sample letter") sign and date, and
mail to Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur.
By customizing this letter even a little bit, you can be
even more effective. Starting it with phrases like "As a
long time birder, I have concerns about..." or I've
taken our children to this area to enjoy the many birds
found there..." will take only another minute of your
time.
2) Send an email to the Ohio Department of
Natural Resources (ODNR)
ODNR's office of Coastal Ohio Management is conducting a
"Federal Consistency review" of the Camp Perry wind
turbine project. Because Camp Perry is on the lake
shore, it falls under federal regulations applying to
"Coastal Management." ODNR is required to accept public
comments before certifying that the wind turbine project
is consistent with the enforceable policies of the Ohio
Coastal Management Program.
BSBO has prepared a sample message, found
HERE.
Copy and paste the sample message into an email (or
write your own message) and send to:
coastal.consistency@dnr.state.oh.us
Thank you for
helping us protect migratory bird habitat. Your support
is deeply appreciated.
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2012-2013 FEDERAL DUCK STAMP
Now available in the BSBO Gift Shop!
and in Our Online Swamp Shop
HERE
Joseph
Hautman of Plymouth, Minnesota, won the 2011 Federal
Duck Stamp Contest with his acrylic painting of a single
wood duck. Hautman has previously won the contest three
times, in 1991, 2001 and 2007. His art will be made into
the 2012-2013 Federal Duck Stamp, which will go on sale
in late June 2012. Second place went to Adam Grimm of
Burbank, South Dakota, for his oil painting of a single
gadwall. Richard Clifton of Milford, Delaware, took
third place with his acrylic painting of a pair of
mallards.
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BSBO PARTNERS WITH EAGLE OPTICS!
Now you can help support Black Swamp Bird
Observatory by purchasing optics equipment through our
Eagle Optics link below. For every purchase through this
site, Eagle Optics will donate 5% of the sale to BSBO.
If you prefer to order by phone 800 289-1132, please be
sure to ask for the 5% donation to BSBO when you order.
THANK YOU!

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1% FOR THE PLANET
Black Swamp Bird Observatory is happy to announce our
partnership with
1% for the Planet, an alliance of over 1,380
member companies in 43 countries that give one percent
of revenues to environmental causes.
BSBO is now eligible to receive donations
from 1% member companies, placing them among a diverse,
global network of environmental organizations. 1%
member businesses fuel this non-profit network through
their annual contributions, which totaled over $22
million in 2010. Partnership with 1% greatly expands
the potential pool of funding to which the Observatory
can look to for support. Find out more about 1% for the
Planet
HERE.
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Last updated on
Thursday, May 23, 2013 |
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©
2011
www.bsbobird.org All rights
reserved
The mission of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory is to inspire the
appreciation, enjoyment,
and conservation of birds and their habitats through research,
education, and outreach.
We are located at the entrance of the Magee Marsh Wildlife Area
| 13551 W. State Route 2 | Oak Harbor, Ohio 43449
| 419 898-4070 |
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