Celebrate Urban Birds eNewsletter

“Funky Nests in Funky Places” Challenge
Have you noticed any bird nests in your neighborhood? Peek in a hanging flower basket…a street light…a store sign…a barbecue grill…an old boot…or under a bridge. Birds build nests in the strangest places! Enter the Kaytee photo contest and “Funky Nests in Funky Places” challenge. Be creative! Take a photo, create some artwork, shoot video, write a story or a poem, or create a sculpture. Just show a bird’s nest built in some out-of-the-way or out-of-this-world place. We plan to create a 2011 calendar with your best entries! Send us your entry before July 1.

Prizes include Kaytee bird feeders and seed, binoculars, sound CDs, books, posters, and much more. We’ll also send the first 50 entrants a copy of our “Doves and Pigeons” poster by Julie Zickefoose.
Learn more

New Bird Quiz
Test your knowledge! Try out the our brand new bird quiz. Take it over and over till you can answer all the questions correctly and download your certificate of achievement!Take the quiz
American Robin by Brandon Green, Oregon

Celebrate Urban Birds Webinar
Do you want to know how to better identify the 16 focal species, collect data, and lead groups in collecting data? Join us on Wednesday, May 5, at 1:00 PM Eastern time for a Celebrate Urban Birds webinar. Pre-registration is required as we have only 100 spaces.

If you plan to attend this webinar you’ll need to connect to the web, have speakers (or earphones), and have Flash installed on your computer (this is a free downloadable program).
Pre-register now

The Pigeon Game
Racing pigeons is a dying sport, but for those who remain in the game it’s a way of life. “The Pigeon Game” is a documentary on the disappearing culture of homing pigeon racing in New York City--a tradition that’s been handed down from generation to generation for more than a century. Unknown to most people, there are still people who raise birds on their rooftops and race them from distances up to 600 miles.
Learn more

Join Celebrate Urban Birds on Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr
Check out our exciting Facebook page and become a fan. You’ll see photos submitted by participants, get links to up-to-date information on fun research that educators and families can use in their efforts to connect to the outdoors, get book recommendations, and be the first to hear about mini-grant opportunities, challenges, and more.

Please feel free to forward this message to anyone you think would be interested. Anyone can sign up to receive updates by registering for Celebrate Urban Birds or by sending us an email at urbanbirds@cornell.edu.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a membership institution dedicated to interpreting and conserving the earth’s biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds. Visit the Cornell Lab’s web site at http://www.birds.cornell.edu.