The Talbot County Council has proclaimed 2018 as the Year of the Bird in Maryland. The declaration celebrates native and migratory birds making their way through Maryland this time of year and the Free State’s remarkable landscapes and water resources that support them. The proclamation was delivered at the Council’s September 11th meeting at the Talbot County Public Library in Easton.
Audubon works with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Maryland State Department of Education on Governor Hogan’s Project Green Classrooms as well as with a host of local, state and federal agencies on important bird area protection, environmental literacy and sea level rise adaptation.
Home to 42 Important Bird Areas and more than 400 observed species, the declaration recognizes that Maryland and the Eastern Shore’s natural resources provide important habitat for birds. Within Maryland, the Chesapeake Bay watershed serves as an important breeding and stopover area for millions of migratory birds each year.
Pickering Creek Audubon Center Trustees David Bent and Tom Sanders, Audubon’s Mark Scallion, and County Council member Dirck Bartlett with the Talbot County Council’s Year of the Bird Proclamation.
People around the world are celebrating 2018 as Year of the Bird. This year marks the centennial of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, one of the oldest wildlife protection laws in the United States. In honor of this milestone, National Geographic, Audubon, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, BirdLife International, and dozens of other partners around the world joined forces to celebrate 2018 as the Year of the Bird. This year’s Harvest Hoedown at Pickering Creek Audubon Center on October 14th will be themed after the Year of the Bird and feature bird activities as well as native plants for people to take home and install in there own yards.
“Year of the Bird is an easy way people can take small everyday actions to help birds along their journeys,” said David Yarnold, president and CEO for National Audubon Society. “Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay provides wintering grounds for approximately one-third of the Atlantic coast’s migratory population including iconic waterfowl species like the Tundra Swan, Canada Goose, Northern Pintail and Green-winged Teal for centuries.”
Many conservation organizations, agencies, businesses and academics have been instrumental in protecting birds and the places they need in Maryland. In celebrating 2018 as the Year of the Bird, there is great appreciation for the efforts of many organizations, including local Audubon chapters and centers, the Maryland Ornithological Society, the Department of Natural Resources, waterfowl associations and duck clubs, and many others. For more about Year of the Bird visit www.birdyourworld.org.
Contact: Mark Scallion, National Audubon Society, [email protected], 410-822-4903
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