Ornithological Council bimonthly news brief: May-June 2025
The Ornithological Council’s mission is to: Ensure that the best ornithological science is incorporated into legislative, regulatory, and management decisions that affect birds; Enhance the ability of ornithologists to pursue professional activities; and Promote the influence of ornithology in public affairs. Over the last two months, Ornithological Council staff: Continued our efforts to support the U.S. Geological Survey's Ecosystems Mission Area, which the administration intends to eliminate in the FY 2026 budget... Read More
AFO grants and awards | What is the impact of AFO grants? Sofia Sirito, 2020 Bergstrom Grant awardee, shares a testimonial
In 2020, Sofia Martin Sirito was awarded one of our Bergstrom Grants for Latin Americans [now Skutch Keystone Grants]. A few days ago, five years later, she contacted us to let us know she had the first paper of her research published! We asked Sofia if she could provide a short testimonial of the impact of the AFO grant on her research, and this is what she had to say... Read More
Guest feature | Vigilance behaviour in colonially nesting waterbirds-environmental and social vigilance in Painted Stork
Colonial nesting, though prevalent in only a small number of bird taxa, has long fascinated evolutionary biologists, tempting the question: why did it evolve? One approach towards explaining the evolution of avian coloniality employs the ‘cost-benefit’ approach, which attempts to take into account the net effect of all the seemingly important variables. Read More
Guest feature | Insights from a decade of using the Motus network to track boreal bird species from Observatoire d’oiseaux de Tadoussac, Québec to temperate and tropical wintering grounds
Migration remains one of the least studied phases in the life cycle of birds, despite its crucial importance for understanding their population dynamics. Until recently, bird monitoring was limited to larger species due to the challenges associated with adding weight to smaller birds. This is where modern technology comes into play. The Motus tracking system, […] Read More
Ornithological Council bimonthly news brief: March-April 2025
The Ornithological Council’s mission is to: Over the last two months, Ornithological Council staff: 1. Developed a statement of support for federal science and scientists, which is posted on our website. AFO, WOS, and Waterbirds have signed on. Other societies wishing to join the statement should contact Laura Bies (laurabiesoc@gmail.com). 2. Joined with over 70 scientific […] Read More
Journal of Field Ornithology | Editor’s Pick (Volume 96, Issue 1)
We are glad to present this new section, where for each new issue of the JFO, one of the journal’s co-Editors-in-Chief will highlight their favorite paper. This edition is courtesy of Dr. Mark E. Hauber. The selected paper was: “Population estimates of shorebirds on the Atlantic Coast of southern South America generated from large-scale, simultaneous, […] Read More
Guest feature | Coexistence at the confluence: addressing human-related threats to coastal birds on the northern Gulf of Mexico
Coastal birds - which include shorebirds, seabirds, and wading birds - are particularly vulnerable to this convergence. Globally, their populations are declining due to habitat loss and/or degradation created by human disturbance, development, predation, collisions with anthropogenic structures and vehicles, and climate change, among other causes. Read More
AFO grants & awards | Announcing the 2025 Bergstrom Grants recipients
Did you know? The Association of Field Ornithologists has a fellowship program aimed at supporting field researchers at all stages of their careers, including non-professional ornithologists. We are proud to present the recipients of the 2025 round of the Bergstrom Grants. If you need funding for your research, consider applying for this opportunity. Mor information […] Read More