| Funding Increases for Birds! Trouble viewing this email? Click here. |  | House Proposes Major Funding Increases for Birds
Migratory birds and other wildlife will benefit from new funding increases proposed in the House Interior Appropriations bill released last month, in a move that clearly demonstrates the new U.S. House of Representatives’ support of environmental issues. The House bill includes a $22 million increase for key bird conservation programs: the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA), Migratory Bird Joint Ventures, North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA), State and Tribal Wildlife Grants, and Invasive Species Monitoring and Control. Read the Press Release to learn more. Individuals can take action by asking your members of Congress to support funding for birds! Groups can sign on to the migratory bird funding initiative. | | | | | | Bird Collisions and Cats Indoors Webinars
Last month, we hosted a Bird Collisions webinar by Bird Collisions Campaign Director, Dr. Christine Sheppard. She detailed successful strategies for reducing bird collisions with glass, including the latest science, policy and regulatory solutions. The Bird Collisions webinar "Strategies for Reducing Bird Collisions" can be viewed on our website or YouTube channel. In April, we hosted Grant Sizemore, Director of Invasive Species Programs, who presented the latest science, policy and regulatory solutions for keeping cats indoors. The "Cats Indoors: A Conservation Movement" webinar can be viewed on our website or YouTube channel. | | | | | | | | Take Action to Help Protect Seabirds
Albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters, including the Laysan Albatross, are often overlooked because they spend the majority of their lives at sea and breed on remote islands. These seabirds face unique threats from fisheries, and they cannot be protected by the actions of one country alone. That’s why recently re-introduced legislation that would implement the Agreement for the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels — an international treaty among fishing nations for the protection of 31 species of seabirds — is so important. We need your voice now to get it across the finish line. Please ask your members of Congress to cosponsor the Albatross and Petrel Conservation Act (H.R. 1305). | | | | | | | | Rare Black-capped Petrels Outfitted at Sea with Satellite Tags
An international team of seabird experts brought together by American Bird Conservancy (ABC) captured Black-capped Petrels at sea for the first time and outfitted the endangered birds with satellite transmitters. Ten Black-capped Petrels were measured, banded, and released with transmitters between May 8 and 14. This groundbreaking work is part of a larger effort to better understand the distribution — and prevent the extinction — of the “Diablotín,” or “little devil,” as this bird is known on its Caribbean nesting grounds. | | | | | | | | Scientists Call for New Cat Management Strategy
Outdoor cats are a “major source of ecosystem contamination” that puts people and animals at risk. According to new research published in EcoHealth by veterinary, public health, and wildlife conservation scientists, including American Bird Conservancy's (ABC's) Director of Invasive Species Programs Grant Sizemore, the paper calls for an updated approach to managing human and animal exposure risks to the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which causes the disease toxoplasmosis. Over 1 million people in the United States are infected with T. gondii each year, and research focused on wildlife populations increasingly indicates widespread environmental contamination and endangered species deaths. | | | | | | | | BirdCallsRadio Presents the First Thrushy Award to Kimberly Kaufman
Uniquely positioned to survey much of the birding world today, BirdCallsRadio established a new award that celebrates people who deserve greater recognition for their significant contributions in the realm of birding, conservation, the environment, natural history, and science. BirdCallsRadio presented the first Thrushy Award to Kimberly Kaufman, Executive Director of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO) on May 9th during The Biggest Week in American Birding festival in northwest Ohio. (Birding Wire) | | | | | | | | Balloons are Unhappy for Wildlife
Our awareness of the issues associated with single-use items, especially those that are non-recyclable (e.g., straws), has grown. However, that awareness has not yet extended to balloons which are still widely used outdoors at weddings and parties. Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership media partner 1430 WNAV has eliminated the use of balloons at their outdoor events. This short article highlights the facts about the dangers of balloons to wildlife and the environment and points out that there are numerous alternatives. (Planet Ark News) | | | | | | | | Development Position Open at ABC
Come join our team! ABC is seeking a fundraising professional to help grow our policy program, with a full-time Development Officer position available within the Development division of ABC. The Development Officer will serve as a lead fundraiser for ABC policy programs, including Conservation Advocacy, Cats Indoors, Bird Collisions, Wind Energy, Pesticides and other programs. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | American Bird Conservancy
PO Box 249, | The Plains, Virginia 20198
(540) 253-5780 | info@abcbirds.org | | Photo captions (top to bottom): Banner: Northern Cardinal, Bonnie Taylor Barry, Shutterstock; Common Yellowthroat, Greg Homel; Laysan Albatrosses, Cameron Rutt; Black-capped Petrel, Brian Patteson; Black-and-white cat, Stock Xchang; Kim Kaufman, BSBO, The Birding Wire; Balloons, Andreas Weiland, Unsplash; U.S. Capitol, Oleksii Khmyz, Shutterstock | | | | | | | |
