McGILL BIRD OBSERVATORY

INFORMATION FOR VOLUNTEERS

Volunteer assistance is required to operate all research programs at the McGill Bird Observatory.  Help is needed both with banding activities and with site maintenance - see our job descriptions page for details. Most volunteers participate occasionally, from a couple of times per season to a couple of times per week.  However, we also have a limited number of openings for seasonal interns - click here for details.   

If you are interested in becoming involved as a volunteer, please e-mail us at "mbo AT migrationresearch.org" for more information.  Previous banding and/or birding experience is welcome, but not necessary.  However, all volunteers planning to take part in banding activities are expected to be familiar with the site protocol (PDF file - e-mail us if you have trouble accessing it).

We are always grateful to volunteers who show up with new bird bags, as we never have enough!  We have prepared a short set of instructions to help you quickly and simply make bags that are safe for the birds.

Bien que la plupart de notre site web est en anglais, les bénévoles francophones sont également bienvenus; tous nos coordinateurs et coordinatrices sont assez bilingues.

An approximate outline of typical activities by month is as follows:

January Winter Population Monitoring (banding and/or census):  1-2 times per week
February Winter Population Monitoring (banding and/or census):  1-2 times per week
March Winter Population Monitoring (banding and/or census):  1-2 times per week
Preparations for spring season (net repairs, path maintenance)
April Spring Migration Monitoring:  census daily, banding daily beginning April 18
May Spring Migration Monitoring:  banding and census daily
June Breeding Bird Monitoring:  census 3-4 times per week, nest box monitoring, periodic banding
July Breeding Bird Monitoring:  census 3-4 times per week, nest box monitoring, periodic banding
August Fall Migration Monitoring:  banding and census daily
September Fall Migration Monitoring:  banding and census daily
October Fall Migration Monitoring:  banding and census daily
Saw-whet Owl Monitoring:  3-4 nights per week
November Winter Population Monitoring (banding and/or census):  1-2 times per week
December Winter Population Monitoring (banding and/or census):  1-2 times per week

 

© 2002-2008 The Migration Research Foundation Inc.