Two years ago, during the 2014 Western Bird Banding Association (WBBA) meeting at Humboldt Bay Bird Observatory in Arcata, California, an international group of bird banders from Canada, the United States and Mexico discussed the exciting possibility of having the next meeting outside the USA. In quick order, our partners from the Vancouver Avian Research Centre (VARC) in British Columbia agreed to host the 2015 WBBA meeting. The subsequent meeting was an outstanding success where banders from across the Western Hemisphere presented on a diversity of topics from capture techniques used to monitor migrants in Veracruz, Mexico, to the effects of forest structure on breeding Pacific Wrens in British Columbia. Participants were also treated to a number of workshops including an advanced molt and ageing course, avian first aid, and statistics, among many other exciting topics. And, of course, participants were able to see the VARC banding crew in action at their Colony Farm Banding Station. Our key note speaker for the meeting was the world-renowned ornithologist Dr. John Reynolds, who discussed the role of anadromous fish in transporting nutrients – through their migrations and subsequent death after spawning – in shaping the forests in which birds live. By all accounts, the meeting was an informative, exciting and wonderful opportunity to learn, have fun and network with colleagues from across the Americas.
Now for the 2016 WBBA Meeting....drum roll please…
2016 Western Bird Banding Association Meeting at Point Reyes Station, California, October 6-9
The 2016 meeting’s theme is “Making ornithological history: past and present”
The meeting is being hosted by Institute for Bird Populations and Point Blue Conservation Science, with support from Klamath Bird Observatory, USDA Forest Service and many others. This will be a very special meeting with an advanced molt and ageing workshop led by Peter Pyle, in addition to a number of other informative workshops, field trips, and keynote speakers. See you in Point Reyes!
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