Dr. Peter Marra, Head of Smithsonian's Migratory Bird Center (SMBC) and founder of Neighborhood Nestwatch in 2000, will be in Denver on October 21. He is the second of three speakers in the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies—Denver Museum of Nature & Science Speaker Series.
The SMBC is the only scientific institution solely dedicated to studying migratory birds. SMBC scientists study birds' basic biology and what drives population size. Research focuses on seasonal interactions throughout birds' full annual cycle, land management, conservation, and behavior. This approach is similar to Bird Conservancy's mission of conserving birds and their habitats, wherever those habitats are. This means researchers migrate with the birds to their wintering grounds to study survivability there.
The American Redstart is one of our beautiful wood-warblers, one we see, albeit infrequently, in Colorado. Male redstarts push females out of high-quality mangrove habitats in winter and into less successful scrub habitat. Is this fair? No, but in winter, redstart males aren't very chivalrous. Is it smart? Well, it depends. It's better for the individual but not so good for the species. Have you seen this elsewhere? Yes, and we recognize that lecturing rarely works, whether it is to the redstart or to the teenager. What works is increasing habitat, which isn't easy for us, or adaptation by the birds, which isn't easy for the birds.
Some do adapt, however. How do they do it? Although many bird populations are suffering serious declines, some birds, however, and not just crows, are adapting to less native land and more urban land. SMBC is studying what adaptations are most promising. Through Neighborhood Nestwatch, birds are color-banded in backyard neighborhoods to assist homeowners in providing valuable citizen science into prosperity and survivability.
SMBC examines how climate, habitat, food, pathogens, and other direct sources of mortality affect both individual migratory and resident birds. The center pursues innovative technological solutions for tracking animals throughout their lifetimes.
To learn more, come to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 21. Get tickets beforehand at DMNS.org. Go to "Learn", "Adult," and "After Hours" for information and tickets.
Larry Modesitt
Chair, Board of Directors
Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
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