Internship Opportunities at WBS

The World Bird Sanctuary provides internship opportunities for applicants over the age of 18. 

This program runs year round, and can offer unique work experience to its applicants, along with possibly receiving college credit if you are enrolled at a college.  Interns are given the chance to work full time in all different areas of the sanctuary including the animal hospital, propagation department, and education department and with our various field studies teams when they are active.

Interns are involved in all aspects of daily life at the World Bird Sanctuary.  Responsibilities include managing the resident animals at the sanctuary, husbandry and maintenance of the facilities, field study work, wildlife rehabilitation, and more!

Through working in all different areas of the sanctuary, interns are given the opportunity to discover which aspects fit their career goals best.  This can be helpful when choosing a career in which you work with animals.  Some people may find that they enjoy working in the animal hospital, helping to nurse sick and injured birds back to health.  Others may find that they prefer working in education, presenting programs for the public.  This internship opportunity gives interns the chance to find out what they are passionate about.

A WBS intern about to release this rehabilitated Red-tailed Hawk back to the wild. (photo: Paige Davis)

While working side by side with WBS staff, interns are taught numerous important skills for working with birds (and other species).  For example, interns will learn how to prepare diets for all of the animals they care for.  The World Bird Sanctuary is home to over 200 animals, and each animal needs care on a daily basis.  Interns will get hands on experience working with many of these species, from eagles to snakes.  They will also get the chance to help present educational bird and other animal programs for the public!  Flying live birds over an audience is a unique experience opportunity at WBS.

Bald eagles are one of many species that interns get to work with here at the sanctuary. (photo: Paige Davis)

For receiving college credits for your internship, you must speak with your college advisor about the internship to make sure credits can be received.  If you are thinking about a career in the field of wildlife, an internship at the World Bird Sanctuary is a great way to gain experience and see what the job is really like.  Not only will you get hands on experience with numerous different species, but you will also find out what working in each area of the sanctuary is like.  It is a unique opportunity to get firsthand experience with rare species from all across the globe.

For more information or an application form, click here.

Submitted by Paige Davis, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist

From “How do we do ALL this” to “Mission Accomplished” – We do even more!

On Monday you learned that 2014 was a successful year in achieving our mission for our wildlife hospital and environmental education department.  But that is not all we have achieved.  We could not have achieved success in all FOUR of our mission focus areas without you.  As always, we plan to maintain 37 years of conservation success through 2015 - but we need your financial support to help us do it.

Please DONATE TODAY to invest in our mission success in 2015.

Field Studies: Fledging Peregrines and Migrating Owls

World Bird Sanctuary’s Field Studies program experienced success for the fourth year in a row with the fledging of four peregrine falcon chicks hatched in a nest box supported by World Bird Sanctuary, Ameren Missouri and Missouri Department of Conservation.  If you were glued to the FalconCam like we were, you know the riveting and compelling hardships that the parents face to successfully raise their chicks to become self-sufficient wild adults.  It was quite a ride!

Wild Peregrine Falcon tends eggs
in the nest box.

Young chicks are fed by a parent.

Chicks are fully grown and about to
leave the nest box to embark on a
wild life without their parents.

Our all-volunteer Bird-Banding team also took part in the OWLNET Saw-Whet Owl monitoring program for the third successive year – making World Bird Sanctuary the southernmost banding point for Saw-whet Owls in the country.  This program contributes valuable information to a central database that tracks migration, population numbers and breeding habits of these birds.  This information will be used to develop and implement preservation strategies for Saw-whet owls around the country.

A wild Saw-whet owl isevaluated before being banded
and released by the Project OWLNET team.

To continue our work monitoring wild populations and developing successful conservation strategies to preserve species, we need your donation today. 

Barn Owls prowl Missouri in numbers again!

World Bird Sanctuary is proud of the part we played in getting Barn Owls off the endangered species list in Missouri.  Our propagation department has released over 800 barn owls during a 30 year period, and Barn Owls finally came off the state endangered species list in 2008.  We breed Barn Owl adults who raise chicks that we release to the wild to bolster wild populations.  These chicks are released in safe areas and monitored.  The big news in 2014 is that one of our released barn owl chicks from 2013 coupled with a wild barn owl and produced her own wild chicks, one year after release.  We call that a resounding success, and it validates the work we love to do!

Donate today and be part of the solution populating Missouri with threatened and endangered bird species through our propagation program.

We have over 37 years of success in achieving our mission through our four focus areas, and numerous accolades and awards for our achievements in wildlife conservation and education.

Watch this video to find out how your investment in our mission makes a difference every day!

The mission of World Bird Sanctuary is to preserve the earth's biological diversity and to secure the future of threatened bird species in their natural environments. We work to fulfill this mission through education, propagation, field studies and rehabilitation.

We know that our mission is important to you too – we invite you to donate today and be part of the solution to challenges facing our wild birds in the years to come.

The World Bird Sanctuary is a consistently successful and credible conservation organization, which makes investing in us one of the safest philanthropic decisions you can make.  You know that we will use your donation wisely.  World Bird Sanctuary meets all 20 charity standards set by the Better Business Bureau. 

Thank you.

Submitted by Catherine Redfern

International Migratory Bird Day 2014

Why do birds Matter?  Join World Bird Sanctuary Saturday May 10^th to learn why at our International Migratory Bird Day celebration. 

This worldwide event celebrates our planet’s amazing migratory birds and “Why Birds Matter”.

 

Learn about the importance of pollinators such at the Ruby Throated Hummingbird, seed dispersers like the American Robin and rodent controllers such as the Red Tailed Hawk.

Schedule for the day:

9:00-1:00      World Bird Sanctuary’s volunteer field studies team will be on site to show visitors how song birds are trapped, measured, and banded as part of the Sanctuary’s ongoing migratory bird survey.  Take part and release a songbird back into the wild!  Shuttles to the site run every 30 minutes.

9:00            Naturalist led bird walk

10:00 & 12:00          Take in a seminar about feeding the birds by bird feed specialists       from the makers of Wild Delight Bird Seed.

Throughout the Day:
•     Learn how to draw birds
•     Make a paper bag vulture
•     View Ruby Throated Hummingbirds in action
•     Raptors on display

So, mark your calendars for May 10, 2014.
Admission and parking are free.

    

Good Egg to Good Eggs

At World Bird Sanctuary’s annual staff/volunteer appreciation Christmas party last December, several people were honored with awards for outstanding achievements.  WBS senior staff presenting awards for staff of the year, volunteer of the year, and junior volunteer of the year.

WBS Director Jeff Meshach presenting the Good Egg Award to the Banding Team

Many years ago Walt Crawford, founding director of WBS, thought up a very unique award based on that world famous, mother of all foods, that if we didn’t have it, there wouldn’t be any birds; the egg.  What better egg to pick to put on an award plaque than the largest egg in the world; the Ostrich egg.  In the WBS realm this biggest of eggs symbolizes quite large achievements.  At the party I had the privilege of presenting our Good Egg award to our own bird banding team.

Linda Tossing, volunteer extraordinaire and the head of the banding team, started volunteering with WBS 16 years ago.  In 2001 Linda started helping a past WBS staff member with mist netting and banding songbirds.

Mist nets are extremely fine-fibered nets, which can’t be seen by most birds.  The nets are set up in places where songbirds are likely to be flying about.  The birds fly into the nets and are removed by the net checkers, banded and then released.  Banding songbirds helps ornithologists gain knowledge on their migration patterns and populations.   Songbird populations are in decline all over North America.  From the humble beginnings of one net and 2 people, Linda took it upon herself to acquire more nets, gather old and new volunteers to help her, all on a shoestring budget.  Last year Linda and her team banded 635 songbirds; a WBS record.

Banding Team members extricating birds from the mist nets

 The banding team starts their day well before dawn, because the saying, “The early bird gets the worm,” is very true.  Birds start their foraging movements literally at the crack of dawn, then their movements lessen as the morning progresses.  Having the nets and net checkers ready early gives them much better chances of catching birds. 

Team member Valerie Giele works carefully to retrieve a bird from the nets

To top the early thing off, the team does what’s called a banding blitz, where they band every morning for 3 weeks at the end of April and the beginning of May.  This timeframe is the best time to catch especially migrating Warblers, passing through eastern Missouri on their way to northern forests for nesting.  Everyone of those days the team gathers on WBS property at 4am, since it’s light enough by 5 to start catching birds.  I’m a morning person, but even I would get tired after a few days of that! 

Team member Colleen Crank banding a Nuthatch

As the summer wears on the team bands once every 2 weeks, and takes part in a program called Monitoring Avian Productivity Survey (MAPS).  The measurements and other information gathered from each bird trapped are sent to a national database, and helps researchers keep track of breeding songbirds in the U.S.

Birds' weights are recorded 

 At the other end of the “keeping odd hours” spectrum, in the autumn of 2012 the banding team started mist netting Northern Saw-whet Owls (Aegolius acadicus).  Saw-whet Owls are a small species, just 5 inches tall from foot to head (come out and see our resident Saw-whet Owl, Aspen, on display at our nature center). 

Naturalist Cathy Spahn holds one of the Saw-whet Owls banded during this special session

Northern Saw-whet Owls nest in northern forests, but not too much is known about their southern migration routes or where they stay for the winter.  These little owls only move after dark, so the banding team starts their activities at about 6pm and ends their banding at 10pm.  These dedicated volunteers band every night for 3 weeks straight!  The banding team proved beyond a doubt that Saw-whets pass through WBS property on their way to their wintering grounds.  The team banded 7 Saw-whets during late October and November of 2012 and 14 during the same timeframe in 2013.

Colleen Crank explains to guests what the banding team does

 To top this all off, the banding team does public mist netting demonstrations every other week throughout the summer, to teach our guests all about songbirds and what WBS and other organizations are doing to help save them.  If that’s not a busy schedule, I’m a Chestnut-sided Warbler’s uncle! 

World Bird Sanctuary thanks Linda and the rest of the bird banding team for their tireless efforts in helping save our country’s songbirds.  Please check out our website to find out when the mist netting demonstrations will be, as well as many other WBS special events.

Submitted by Jeff Meshach, World Bird Sanctuary Director

Field Studies - May

Hey everyone. Hope you are all enjoying this amazing summer. I know the birds are keeping busy, and that is keeping me busy.  I am not complaining though.  It has been an incredible year so for.

Anyway, I thought maybe you would all like to know how things stand so far. The season got off to a slow start, but by late march we had lots of hopeful new birds picking boxes and starting on their new homes.  At first it looked like all we were going to get were Eastern Bluebirds, but by mid-April the Chickadees started staking their claims as well.

The first new chicks of the season were banded in the first week of May: 94 little Eastern Bluebirds and 6 Carolina Chickadees.  Of course, this was just the beginning.  Over two hundred Bluebird eggs were laid in April and by the middle of May we are looking at over 300 Bluebird eggs in total.

A nest full of Bluebird chicks

It has been a little tricky figuring out just when to get the bands on the chicks.  They are so tiny and delicate; it made me nervous at first.  They grow up so fast as well.  You do not get many opportunities before they fly the coop.  I managed to get it all figured out though, and have so far banded 137  birds--121 Eastern Bluebirds, and 16 Carolina Chickadees.  Many more will be banded in the following weeks.

As of this writing I had counted 322 Eastern Bluebird eggs. Of those 322 eggs 198 have hatched so far and I still expect many more to hatch in the following weeks.  Of course I cannot band them right away. In general, in about a week to ten days their little legs will have grown strong enough to get the little aluminum band.

Late April and early May saw the arrival of two new species to the boxes--House Wrens, and Tufted Titmice.  Already, the House Wrens have established 19 nests with 57 eggs, so they are going to give the Bluebirds a run for their money. The Tufted Titmice are moving a little slower with only two confirmed nests so far.

So that is my report to date. Do not worry. I will keep you informed with each new and exciting development in the field.

Submitted by Neal Cowan, World Bird Sanctuary Field Studies Supervisor

What Are Field Studies?

Beautiful country fields, miles of tall grass in the middle of what feels like nowhere, and a hot 89 degrees in May doesn’t stop World Bird Sanctuary’s Adam Triska from doing his job.

Field Studies are an important part of the research the World Bird Sanctuary does. In fact, it is one of four ways we fulfill our mission statement.

What, you may ask, are field studies? In WBS’s case, Field studies can be defined as: a company (World Bird Sanctuary) which is contracted by another company (in our case Ameren Missouri) to see whether or not bird habitat is healthy.  WBS does this through various surveying techniques. 

 Power line stanchions 

From March through August 2012, Adam monitored 240 nest boxes on Ameren Missouri power line right-of-ways and recorded the birds’ success rates that nested in those boxes. The boxes are mounted on the power line stanchions.  You might be wondering what a stanchion is because I certainly did!  If you look at the photo above, you will see what might be a familiar site when you are driving on a highway--a big wide open space in the middle of nowhere with large structures holding up power lines.  Those structures are called stanchions.

On May 24^th I got the chance to go along on a field studies trip.  Adam’s field study days are always to different places.  There are three lines and 240 nesting boxes that he looks after on a daily basis. 

 House Wren Eggs 

The day that I went with him we went to quite a few different spots and checked on some eggs he had seen the previous week.  This particular line of nesting boxes is a new line for this year’s study, near Robertsville, Missouri.

 Banding a baby House Wren 

The first place we went had the most birds of the day, with nesting House Wrens and Bluebirds. There happened to be three baby House Wrens just old enough to be banded.  Banding is something we do to start a record for that particular bird.  If the band is ever found again, data and circumstances can be compared and we learn something about that bird and probably that species.  It is the equivalent of applying a bracelet which is what you see being done in one of the other pictures.

 The opportunity to go out in the field and see this firsthand was a great experience. The work that World Bird Sanctuary does with field studies is very important to not only the bird’s habitat but the environment we live in.

Submitted by Kaitlin Conti, World Bird Sanctuary Intern

Field Studies Report – July 2012

During the 2012 nesting season July has been the least productive month of the study.

The constant heat and drought have caused many of the birds to abandon their eggs. The rate of success is very meager if any, and the outlook for the remainder of the study is dismal at best. Still the research goes on and I can only keep hoping for a break in the extreme weather conditions.

 Photo by Adam Triska

For July there were a total of 28 active nests, with 24 of them being Eastern Blue Bird nests and 4 House Wren nests.  Of the 109 eggs present, 88 were Eastern Blue Bird eggs and 21 were House Wren eggs.  Only 25 Babies were hatched successfully and 15 were banded. Four of the banded babies were lost due to the extreme weather conditions, so only a total of 11 babies fledged during July. The total of banded birds for this year is 293, and the overall total of birds fledged (banded or not) is still to be determined, but I would suspect the number will be in the ballpark of 350 birds.

The weather, as we all know, has been very unforgiving this month for the birds and also me.  In my weekly route I make note of temperature and other weather related information.  I recorded 12 days that were over 100° F.  This extreme heat combined with less than 1 inch of precipitation has brought the nesting season almost to a stop. From July 10-31 only 2 babies were banded, and this trend will most likely continue.

This month 10 nests and over 45 eggs were lost to predators and the elements. I expect that the number of birds lost will only increase before the nesting season is over if the extreme conditions continue.  Fear not, though!!  Nature continually throws curve balls at its residents, and the residents improvise, adapt and overcome.

Submitted by Adam Triska, World Bird Sanctuary Field Studies Coordinator

Ameren/WBS Nest Box Study – May Counts

May was a very busy month for the Ameren/WBS nest box study.  This month I had two new species nesting in the boxes being monitored for the study!

Many birds have started laying eggs for a second time this season, and some latecomers have shown up.  I have been busy with figuring the numbers, but I also have the latest numbers for the 2012 study.

As mentioned earlier, there are some new birds that have been found in the past month.  House wrens have moved in and are producing a good number of babies.  I have found 14 nests in the last five weeks, and they produced 51 eggs.  Of those, 24 hatched in the last three weeks, but only 6 have been banded because many will not be old enough to band until early June.

The other species that was found was the Tufted Titmouse.  Only one nest was found in the study thus far.  This nest produced 6 eggs and three lived to be banded and fledge.

For many birds, this month was the start of their second clutch.  The second clutch refers to birds returning to the same nest box where they already laid one clutch of eggs and had babies.  In the study so far only Eastern Blue Birds have returned to lay a second clutch.  It is hard to give an exact number of birds returning to lay a second clutch because the adults are not positively identified individually, but I think there are at least 15 nests that have second clutches.

So--down to the numbers for May and for the study thus far.  In the month of May I banded 126 babies.  So far, 96 have left the nest and hopefully the rest will have left before the next time I visit the boxes!

The real numbers that count are the overall numbers for the study up to May 31^st.  Over all the study has produced 92 nests out of a possible 240 nest boxes.  These 92 nests produced 552 eggs  and 305 have hatched.  Two hundred seventy-four babies have been banded and 233 of the babies have fledged.

Thanks again for taking the time to read my blog and have a good one!

Adam Triska. World Bird Sanctuary Field Studies Coordinator 

It’s Turtle Season

Every year in the month of May there’s an increase in the number of Turtles being seen on the roads. 

Since I am in the field every day I cannot begin to tell you how many turtles I see on the road, and the number I see hit by cars.  I understand that on some roads you can do your best to try to avoid them.  However, sometimes there is no way to avoid hitting them without destroying your car in the process.

In many cases the simplest solution is to stop the car, get out and move the turtle off the road.  It only takes a few extra minutes, and you will be saving a life.  When you move a turtle move it in the direction it appears to be going, if this can be done safely for you and does not put the turtle in more danger.  Never risk your life for a turtle!  If you stop maybe someone else will see you, and will stop and do the same thing the next time.

Usually, the largest numbers of turtles are seen on the road first thing in the morning.  A majority of the turtles that are on the move and crossing roads at this time of year are the females that are heading for nesting grounds.

While reading about turtles crossing the road I found some excellent information on the Humane Society website about what you can do to prevent Vehicle/Animal Collisions.  Following is an excerpt:

“Scan the road as you drive, watching the edges for wildlife about to cross. Not only will this help you to avoid harming or killing wildlife, but it will also make you more aware of other hazards such as bicyclists, children at play and slowly moving vehicles.

“Be Alert!

“Be especially watchful for wildlife at dawn, dusk, and in the first few hours after darkness falls. Many species of wildlife are most active at these times.

“Edges of roads that border agricultural fields or natural habitats are places to be particularly watchful for wildlife.

“Assume that animals do not know to get out of your way. Young animals, in particular, do not recognize cars as a threat.

“Lower your dashboard lights slightly. You'll be more likely to see your headlights reflected in the eyes of animals in time to brake.

“Every apple core, french fry and smelly sandwich wrapper tossed out of a car attracts wildlife to roadsides—often with fatal results. Never throw litter from your car.

“Remember that where there is one animal crossing, there may be more young animals following their mother or male animals pursuing a mate.

“Try to slow down, especially after dark. Many animals needlessly become victims simply because people drive too fast to avoid hitting them. Speed poses a risk to human safety as well.”

Every time you see a turtle on the road think about this--a box turtle can live 50 years in the wild.  By ensuring that one female turtle lives you are giving the 5 or 6 eggs that she lays each year a chance.  In the future at least one of those babies will survive to adulthood and will take her place to continue the species for future generations to enjoy.

Submitted by Cathy Spahn, World Bird Sanctuary Field Studies Coordinator

The Start of the 2010 Field Studies Season

 In early March World Bird Sanctuary began its sixth season working with Ameren, looking at the control methods they use for maintaining their rights of way.

I started the season by cleaning out the nestboxes, removing old nests, mice, and debris from the winter.  I have also been working on repairing and replacing nest boxes.  Local boy scouts working on completing their Eagle Scout service projects make all of our nestboxes.

As of March 10, I was starting to see bluebirds displaying near the nestboxes.  On March 23, I saw the start of nest building by a few bluebirds as well as chickadees and titmice.

I’ve had many enjoyable finds signaling the start of spring, including sightings of flocks of Snow Geese flying over, the first Killdeer, and Eastern Phoebes.  Then there is always the first butterfly, bee, spring peepers, turtles and flowers.  All first finds make the start of the field season enjoyable.

The start of field studies also means fun encounters with wildlife.  My most memorable encounter this season was on March 24 about 1 pm at Robertsville State Park.  I had stopped there to enjoy lunch on a beautiful 65° spring day. Birds were calling and a nice warm breeze was blowing, while off in the distance Barred Owls could be heard calling. 

When I finished lunch I had about a minute or less drive to my parking spot so that I could check the boxes in the park.  I had just driven under the power lines when I saw a good size gray bird on the ground off the shoulder of the road.  I quickly came to a stop and pulled out the binoculars and there was a beautiful Barred Owl with something in his foot.  I approached slowly in the truck.  The owl flew up to a branch about five feet into the woods.  I drove up slowly, rolled the window down, and pulled out my camera.  I took several photos of this Barred Owl.  It just sat there and looked at me.  I pulled into the parking spot and enjoyed more looks at this beautiful bird.  

The Barred Owl remained in the woods while I worked around the truck.  I walked out and took care of several of the boxes, went back to the truck, and the owl was still sitting in the woods watching the truck and me.  I have to say this is definitely one of my most memorable experiences with a wild Barred Owl.

Submitted by Cathy Spahn, World Bird Sanctuary Field Studies Coordinator

News from the Field

What does a Field Studies Team do?

2009 has been a very busy year for World Bird Sanctuary’s field studies team.  Our longest running field studies project with Ameren UE is our nestbox study.  The nestbox study looks at power line cuts and the methods of control used on the vegetation.  We then compare the methods of control with nestboxes that are placed on these lines and at how successful the nestboxes are for cavity nesting species, such as Eastern Bluebirds, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, House Wren, Carolina Wren, and a specialty Great-crested Flycatcher.

On each stanchion that we check we have two Peterson nestboxes and two standard nestboxes.  The different nestboxes are preferred by different species, these boxes are built by eagle scouts as part of their eagle scout projects.  Our field studies staff, including Trina Whitner, Matt Sheele, and myself check the three lines.   Each time we check the boxes we record in which box we find eggs, babies, babies banded, and then number that fledge.  This data helps us to determine just how successful the control methods are.

 In addition to checking the nestboxes we also perform point counts at select locations on each line.  Two trained naturalists count all of the birds they see and/or hear in the area for ten minutes.  This additional data helps us to determine how the control methods affect other nesting birds in the area.

This season was the fifth year in a five-year study with Ameren looking at the treatment methods used on power cuts to determine which of their control methods is the best for nesting bird species in the region.  This year we found that the number of boxes used was way down. Out of the 309 boxes installed over three lines only 64 were used.  Even the number of young that fledged was down.  We feel that this was due to the fact that over the last few years we have had unusually high rainfall that increased the amount the vegetation grew between the treatments. Vegetation in many cases was above 5 feet.  Bluebirds and other cavity nesting species do not like vegetation this high, especially around the nest boxes. 

At this point in the study it is still too early to draw any firm conclusions.  There are few consistencies in the data from 2005 to 2009, and it will take several more years to see the development of any real pattern.   For this reason we need to continue this project to determine whether the height of vegetation is a major factor, or if  there are other environmental factors that led to the decline in birds this year.

If your company or organization is in need of an experienced organization to do field studies Click Here for more information.

Submitted by Cathy Spahn, Field Studies Coordinator

Field Studies: banding a titmouse

Our Field Studies Team is hard at work this spring. Here's a video, courtesy of Cathy Spahn, of one of our nest box studies. This shows a young eastern titmouse being banded.

The World Bird Sanctuary's Field Studies Staff are dedicated individuals with biology, wildlife management or related degrees. Each individual is well educated in the visual and auditory identification of avian species in the field.

WBS' Three Phase Program to Wildlife Area Enhancement:

Habitat Assessment: The first step of any project generally includes the evaluation of the property in question.

WBS field staff are able to provide an overall assessment of biodiversity, habitat quality, critical habitat identification and the presence or absence of federally or state identified endangered or threatened species as well as species of special concern.

Conservation Consultation: After a thorough assessment of the property has been completed, senior WBS field staff will develop various comprehensive habitat management plans taking into account the current and proposed land use. The identification of habitat restoration and/or enhancement opportunities can be made at this time.

Habitat Management: WBS is experienced in the development of long term habitat management programs designed to maintain an increased overall habitat quality. Based on goals and objectives developed during consultations, a detailed management plan can be put together including design, construction oversight and long term monitoring and maintenance regimes. When properly implemented, such a plan is integral to the success of any project and may bring other benefits such as increased aesthetic value and potential reductions in maintenance costs.

WBS is internationally recognized as a first-class conservation organization and has consulted on many projects for zoological institutions including international entities such as the Ecuador Zoological Park and the Guyana Zoological Park. WBS' environmental consultants have experience working with numerous government organizations including the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, United States Air Force, Conservation on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and many others.

Spring field studies...

The World Bird Sanctuary's Field Studies Staff are dedicated individuals with biology, wildlife management or related degrees. Each individual is well educated in the visual and auditory identification of avian species in the field.

WBS' Three Phase Program to Wildlife Area Enhancement:

Habitat Assessment: The first step of any project generally includes the evaluation of the property in question.

WBS field staff are able to provide an overall assessment of biodiversity, habitat quality, critical habitat identification and the presence or absence of federally or state identified endangered or threatened species as well as species of special concern.

Conservation Consultation: After a thorough assessment of the property has been completed, senior WBS field staff will develop various comprehensive habitat management plans taking into account the current and proposed land use. The identification of habitat restoration and/or enhancement opportunities can be made at this time.

Habitat Management: WBS is experienced in the development of long term habitat management programs designed to maintain an increased overall habitat quality. Based on goals and objectives developed during consultations, a detailed management plan can be put together including design, construction oversight and long term monitoring and maintenance regimes. When properly implemented, such a plan is integral to the success of any project and may bring other benefits such as increased aesthetic value and potential reductions in maintenance costs.

WBS is internationally recognized as a first-class conservation organization and has consulted on many projects for zoological institutions including international entities such as the Ecuador Zoological Park and the Guyana Zoological Park. WBS' environmental consultants have experience working with numerous government organizations including the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, United States Air Force, Conservation on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and many others.

Spring is an exciting time for our field studies team. The pictures below show our staff and volunteers mist netting, weighing, and banding spring birds.

Checking the Mist nets

Carefully freeing the birds from the net

Almost free of the net

Placing the bird in a "Safe Bag"

Applying a band

Checking for feather condition and parasites

Measuring the length of the primary feathers

Weighing the bird

Explaining to visitors what we are doing