The 2023 Annual Conference and AGM conference will be held in Vernon BC from June 9-11.

And not just in your backyard! <https://www.birdcount.org/>

After two years of Covid delays we are delighted to confirm that Smithers will be the destination for our Annual Conference and AGM. Mark your calendars for 24 – 26 June 2022.

Detailed information on the conference, including field trip descriptions and special conference hotel rate, can be found here. or under the Events drop-down tab above. Registration opens early March. Further information on registration and payments will be posted when available. Additional field trips will also be added.

The updated COSEWIC Status Report being prepared by Birds Canada requires current, province-wide population information for Long-billed Curlew.

BCFO members are invited to participate in this important, volunteer, roadside survey this spring.

• Why: We need to know how these listed birds are doing to determine and update their conservation status. A province-wide population estimate hasn’t been made since 2005!
  
• How: Single-day roadside surveys conducted along ca. 30-km transects within known grassland and croplands.
  
• When: Between April 23-May 8, with dates progressing from south to north.
  
• Where: Okanagan-Similkameen, Thompson-Nicola, Cariboo-Chilcotin, Prince George-Nechako, and East Kootenay regions.
  
• Who: Teams of 2-3 people who can identify curlews by sound and sight. Training will be provided virtually in March for all participants.

SIGN UP FOR THE SURVEY

Learn more about Long-billed Curlews in BC

The meeting will have the usual business items of the Annual General Meeting. And, not to be missed, the AGM will be followed by an exclusive, for those joining us for the Zoom AGM, keynote presentation by David Bradley on the Long-billed Curlew project in the Prince George area.

We will again be placing items to be reviewed at the AGM (agenda, 2020 AGM minutes, financial report, and other documents) on the website when they are ready for members to review prior to the AGM here.

Similar to 2020, all members will receive an email notice regarding the AGM with the requirement to register for the Zoom meeting. This will be sent one week prior to the AGM.

Creston Valley Bird Festival goes virtual this year with live webinars plus some Covid-safe outdoor events. Registration opens April 1st. http://www.crestonvalleybirds.ca/

Here you can Choose Your Own Adventure, or view here the Schedule of Webinars and Outdoor Events .

Christmas Bird Count season will be upon us soon. With that in mind, we have just opened our annual CBC tracking page for this 121st count season.

If your count(s) does not yet have this season’s information entered, please send the details as soon as possible to our compiler directly through the page.

Registration and payment pages now open. You can find them under the Events drop-down menu above, or via the links below.

Register and Pay for the Golden AGM and Conference HERE

And

Register and Pay for the Pre-AGM Extension Trip HERE

The details and schedule of the AGM have been expanded and updated. You can check them out HERE before linking to the payment pages above.

Details have now been finalized for this year’s Extension Trip to Southern Alberta.

An exciting adventure awaits participants as we explore the prairie potholes and foothills of Alberta. An amazing array of birds will be looked for including:

Sharp-tailed Grouse, Spruce Grouse, Dusky Grouse, Clark’s Grebe, Common Nighthawk, Yellow Rail, Sandhill Crane, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Piping Plover, Upland Sandpiper, Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Wilson’s Phalarope, Franklin’s Gull, Black Tern, American White Pelican, White-faced Ibis, Swainson’s Hawk, Ferruginous Hawk, Great Gray Owl, Burrowing Owl, Prairie Falcon, Alder Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, Brown Thrasher, Chestnut-collared Longspur, McCown’s Longspur, Blue Jay, Boreal Chickadee, Winter Wren, Rock Wren, Lark Sparrow, Baird’s Sparrow, Baltimore Oriole, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Sprague’s Pipit,  Grasshopper Sparrow, Brewer’s Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Lark Bunting, Baird’s Sparrow, Yellow-breasted Chat, Bobolink, Baltimore Oriole, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Tennessee Warbler, Connecticut Warbler, Cape May Warbler, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak

NOTE: The Registration and Payment pages for the AGM and Extension will open at 9:00 am PDT April 6, 2019. In order to participate in the Extension, you must be a current BCFO member, and registered for the AGM.

Full details of the Extension and itinerary here.

As part of the parallel programs running in conjunction with the International Ornithological Congress 2018, happening later this month in Vancouver, BCFO members are invited and encouraged to participate in the Stewardship Roundtable.

Hosted by the Stewardship Centre for BC and Bird Studies Canada, the Roundtable on Friday, August 24, 2018 will be a forum and showcase of innovative practices championed in our province and beyond.

Please register by August 12th. Registration is only $20 and includes access to sessions described below, coffee, lunch, and a networking and poster session. Visit the website https://stewardshipcentrebc.ca/register-for-srt/ for further information and to register.

The program includes the following offerings covering a range of interests.

Birds and Building Collisions: Learn about how and why birds collide with windows. What factors influence the risk of collisions, and what practical solutions exist. Join the discussion with architects, practitioners, municipal planners and more.

Cats and Birds Living in Harmony: Navigating the issues around cats’ impacts on birds demands a non-traditional approach; the human dimension is a key part of finding solutions. Participants will learn best stewardship practices, not only for the welfare of cats and birds, but also for managing the many challenges facing individuals and communities.

Climate Change Adaptation for Birds and Wildlife: This session outlines how climate impacts continental-scale bird migration and the ways communities and municipalities are responding.

Co-Benefits of Agricultural Lands as Bird Habitat: Productive agricultural land tends to overlap with important habitats for birds and other wildlife. This session explores some ways farm and ranch lands can continue to support healthy populations of aerial insectivores, grassland birds, waterfowl, and raptors.

Urban Habitat for Wildlife and Birds: Humans place pressure on urban landscapes, including private backyards and public parks. Join us for a discussion of the challenges and opportunities to improve habitat for wildlife and birds while restoring these areas.

Wildlife Management Areas/Important Bird Areas and Shorelines: In this session we explore how social and economic structures can be incorporated into conservation planning within WMAs, IBAs, and along shorelines. We will address this topic through two lenses: green infrastructure and
traditional food and cultural practices.

For just $10 more, participants can also attend the evening event, “Birds of a Feather,” featuring key note speaker Purnima Barman. Purnima promises to be an amazing and inspirational speaker. She recently won the Whitley Awards (dubbed the “Green Oscars”) for the conservation of the Greater Adjutant Stork and its habitat. https://www.huffingtonpost.in/2017/05/17/assam-conservationist-purnima-barman-has-won-the-green-oscars_a_22096493/ “Purnima has mobilised followers into the ‘Hargila Army’, an all-female team of conservationists dedicated to protecting the greater adjutant stork which, through this programme, are offered sustainable livelihood, training and education opportunities. The project is giving marginalised women a voice. Together they are changing local perceptions and numbers of stork nests have risen from 30 seven years ago to over 150 today.”