Event Address: Online talk by Chris Eberly, Director, Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership
Link for event access will arrive by email

Raptors are important indicators of environmental health. Raptors found in agricultural areas—farmland raptors—benefit farmers by preying on mice, voles and insects. In Maryland, the barn owl (Tyto alba) and American kestrel (Falco sparverius) show widespread, long-term declines.

These species are a farmer’s friend because they dine on many farm pests, including mice, grasshoppers, and voles. In fact, they can effectively and cheaply contribute to pest management, especially in fields.

Attracting farmland raptors will significantly reduce the need for pesticides, which can kill nontarget animals in addition to intended rodents. And the sight of a kestrel or barn owl hunting adds an element of the wild back into your fields and delights birders.

The presentation is about American kestrels and barn owls, their population status, causes for declines, and how community science efforts like the Farmland Raptor program offer optimism about their future. Groups like Audubon Society of Central Maryland are poised to be leaders in this conservation program!

Chris Eberly is executive director of the Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership. A Marylander by birth, he worked in the computer industry for 11 years before attending graduate school at the University of Georgia.
After graduating with an M.S. in natural resources and ornithology, Chris coordinated the Department of Defense’s bird conservation program (DoD Partners in Flight program) for 17 years. After serving as Executive Director of the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, he was excited to return to Maryland to head up MBCP.
Chris strives to connect people to birds through Bird City Maryland, the Maryland Bald Eagle Nest Monitoring Program, and the Farmland Raptor Program. He is also currently president of the Anne Arundel Bird Club.

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED TO ATTEND.

Donations are welcome on ASCM's website. https://www.centralmdaudubon.org/donate
Questions? Contact us at advocacy@centralmdaudubon.org