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BirdLife International Species Champion

BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organizations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources.

I began my real interest in birds when my wife and I moved to rural Northern California 30 years ago.  We put up hummingbird feeders and attracted so many hummingbirds that we had to keep adding feeders so we could get by with filling them up only once a day.  There were so many birds around our new home that we had to purchase our first field guide so that we could learn all of their names and discover what secrets they might share with us.

We were fortunate to have a pair of Red-tailed Hawks breeding in alternate sites on our property.  We loved watching them raise their young every year.

I began building birdhouses and mounting them all around the place.  Not really knowing what I was doing, we had some successes and some failures until I learned how to properly monitor a nest box for the benefit of the birds themselves, which in turn gave us the satisfaction of watching them bring their young to the feeders and grace us with their beautiful songs and acrobatic antics.

My conservation efforts began as I built and monitored Bluebird Trails, first on my own property, then expanding to other locations to help increase the once plentiful Bluebird that had been declining since the early 1900’s.  Now I am working to help the Burrowing Owl, a species of special concern in California, regain a foothold in Northern California where it has been declining for the last twenty years.

As I became more connected to the birding community I realized that conservation was the key to the survival of not only the birds in my life, but all the other animals and plants that surround each and every one of us.  I realized that I needed to do more to secure the Earth’s biodiversity and help prevent the extinction of any more bird species.

BirdLife International’s Preventing Extinctions Programme (PEP) is the logical solution for any birder with the goal of keeping the bird species we currently enjoy globally, safe for the enjoyment of future generations.  In the last thirty years alone, 21 bird species have become extinct and there are currently 192 species classified as Critically Endangered.

Preventing birds from becoming extinct is truly a global process.  BirdLife International is the official Red List Authority for birds for the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) which lists 1,227 bird species currently considered threatened with extinction.

The BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme is already delivering active conservation by appointing Species Guardians for each of these threatened species.  These Species Guardians are funded by Species Champions, like myself, who agree to a three year commitment to not only fund the program, but draw attention to the plight of the birds we support as well.

Species Champions are urgently needed.  If you’d like to become a Species Champion please email: species.champions@birdlife.org

Every dollar helps prevent bird species extinctions.  For this reason, I ask that you join me in preventing extinctions by giving whatever you can through The Birder’s Report, Preventing Extinctions Just Giving Page.  Any contribution, whatever size, makes a difference and 100% of your donation goes immediately to where it is needed most.  The birds in your life will appreciate it and your children and grand children will benefit from your generosity.