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MALE AND FEMALE CARDINALS FEED IN ASHLAND
Winter Bird Survival Challenge
How are feathered friends surviving the season?
Ithaca, NY—How do birds withstand wicked winter weather and other daily threats to survival, even in warmer climates? A new environmental challenge from the Celebrate Urban Birds project at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology invites participants to show how birds are surviving in their neighborhoods this winter. It can be a photo, artwork, video, even a story or a poem describing how birds are finding the food, water, and shelter they need. People of all ages can participate as well as groups such as schools, libraries, clubs, and businesses. Celebrate Urban Birds is a free, year-round citizen-science project focused on birds in neighborhood settings.
“It’s unbelievable how even tiny birds can survive being outdoors 24/7 in places where winter is cold and snowy,” says project leader Karen Purcell. “We want to see how they’re getting along. It might be a crow huddling near a chimney to get warm, visits to bird feeders, a berry bush that birds raid for food, a fountain birds use for water, or maybe even one of the lucky birds soaking up the sun in a warm, southern state.”
Prizes include a pair of Eagle Optics binoculars, bird feeders, a birdsong calendar, books, posters, cards and more. The first 50 entrants will receive a copy of the "Little Green Places" poster and selected images and videos will be posted on the Celebrate Urban Birds website.
How to enter: 1. Email entries to urbanbirds@cornell.edu. If you submit a video, post it on YouTube and send us the link.
2. Write “Survival your first name your last name your state” in the subject line.
3. Include your mailing address in your email
4. Explain why you submitted your entry—describe your winter conditions and what you observe the birds doing during winter.
5. One entry per person, please.
The deadline for entries is February 15, 2010
Visit the Celebrate Urban Birds website for more information, to see entries for past challenges, and to read the terms of agreement for all entries.
Coming in the next ECHO:
John Dillinger escapes the FBI in Wisconsin
“The Little Rascals” a real Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer adventure in the Apostle Islands
The life of Nannie Gray: Living a hard but good life
“The Chapple Chronicles” – Emily Chapple earns her spot in the history books of Madeline Island
The tale of two Mellen High School valedictorians separated by 63 years, but joined through the common bond of education and the dreams of a better world
Washburn’s “Rubber Band Man”
And much, much, more...
The final 1000 words...
Unique patterns of frost were created by sub-zero temperatures on a window in Mellen, Wisconsin. (ECHO photo by Jeff Peters)
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