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Making a Home for Birds Webinar Series

Our Making a Home for Birds webinar series engages viewers on topics of conservation concern related to birds and other wildlife. Webinars are free, though donations are always welcome to help us pay for the cost of hosting these events.

Webinars are hosted 2-3 times a year. Find announcements of upcoming webinars on our events calendar, and check out recordings of past webinars at the links below. For questions or to propose topics or speakers, email sanctuary@centralmdaudubon.org.

Webinar Recordings

Things that go ZEEP in the Night; Unraveling the Mysteries of Nocturnal Bird Migration Webinar: Back in 2021, Andy Wilson recorded nocturnal migrants from his backyard in Frederick for the entirety of the spring and fall migration cycles. In this webinar, Andy talks about the methods used for nocturnal flight recording and discusses some of the surprising rarities detected and fascinating seasonal patterns shown by the commoner migrants.

Farmland Raptors: A Farmer’s (and Birder’s) Best Friends: Chris Eberly of Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership discusses American kestrels and barn owls, their population status, causes for declines, and how community science efforts like the Farmland Raptor program offer optimism for their future.

Beautiful Bluebirds of Maryland: Maryland Bluebird Society president Kathy Kremnitzer reviews bluebird basics, including habitat, nesting habits, and how to provide bluebirds with the safest possible housing. She discusses the importance of monitoring, including nest identification to determine which bird is using a nestbox, and takes questions from the audience.

Plant Diversity and Ecosystem Services on Abandoned Public Lands: University of Maryland Baltimore County’s Christopher Swan, PhD, presents results from a three-year field experiment that manipulated both functional and phylogenetic diversity of seed additions into vacant lots in Baltimore. The goal of the study was to determine how increasing the diversity of the urban species pool impacted community assembly and establishment in vacant lots, a common urban habitat type that is often discussed as a potential location for urban ecosystem restoration projects.

Birding for Beginners: Benjamin Gantz, Audubon Society of Central Maryland volunteer and board member, shares an introduction to the wonderful hobby of birding with a local focus. Gantz introduces ASCM’s Audrey Carroll and Fred Archibald sanctuaries in Frederick County, which offer good representations of the region’s birding. He discusses features that are important to know to make identifications, including size, shape, and plumage variation. A variety of other points will also be considered to give a well-rounded view of birding, including habitat types, Maryland geography, and the seasons of birding.

Understanding and Preventing Bird Collisions Oklahoma State University associate professor Scott Loss shares key research advances from his lab, including: (1) how bird-window collisions vary in time, both seasonally and throughout the day and night, and in association with bird migration and weather; (2) how collisions vary spatially in association with factors related to buildings and the landscapes surrounding them; and (3) how collision risk varies among bird species and in association with bird life history (e.g., migratory strategy). Scott discusses how these findings are being used to recommend collision mitigation practices, as well as ongoing studies assessing approaches to reduce collisions.

Bobwhite Quail: Bringing Back an Iconic Maryland Bird: Bobwhite quail populations have declined by over 90% in the Mid-Atlantic region in the last half century. Bob Long, wild turkey and upland game bird biologist for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, discusses the biology and habitat requirements of quail, factors that caused the decline, and what landowners and other individuals can do to help reverse the trend.