MBCP Update 2019 Year-end Report Chris Eberly, Executive Director 1. Partners • MBCP has 40 partner organizations as of 12/31/2019. Figure 1 shows the geographic distribution of these partners. The farther west partner is Western MD RC&D in Hagerstown. An effort has been made to identify potential partners in western Maryland, southern Maryland, and the upper Eastern Shore. Several potential partners have been identified and will be “recruited” in 2020. Not surprisingly, many partners are in the greater Annapolis area (Figure 2). 1430 WNAV Lights Out Baltimore Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay Lower Shore Land Trust American Bird Conservancy Maryland Biodiversity Project American Daughters of Conservation Maryland Coastal Bays Program American Forests Maryland DNR Assateague Island National Seashore Maryland League of Conservation Voters Audubon MD-DC Maryland Ornithological Society Chesapeake Bay Foundation Maryland Zoo Chesapeake Conservancy National Wildlife Federation – MD Chapter CleanBeachOC Phoenix Wildlife Center Conservation Community Consulting Safe Skies MD Delmarva Low Impact Tourism Experiences Scenic Rivers Land Trust Ducks Unlimited Smart Growth MD (Preservation Maryland) Eastern Shore Land Conservancy Southern MD Audubon Society Friends of Jug Bay Susquehannock Wildlife Society Greater Baltimore Wilderness Coalition The Nature Conservancy-MD-DC Harford Glen USDA NRCS Hazel Outdoor Discovery Center USFWS Irvine Nature Center USGS Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary Western Maryland RC&D 2. Building the Partnership, Engaging Partners, and Recruiting Volunteers • Presentations: Gave 14 presentations, reaching 927 people, added at least 35 new volunteers through these presentations. See Table 1 for list of presentations. • MBCP Facebook: 1410 followers, a 43% increase from 2018. • eNews subscribers: 215, a 23% increase from 2018. The reach of our eNews is above 10,000 thanks for posts and reposts on many Facebook pages. • Media interviews: 2 radio and 1 TV interview. See Table 2 for details. 1 • The first-ever Maryland Bird Conservation Symposium was held in January. The event drew more than 115 participants and speakers. There were 11 speakers, which include three YMOS youth. Mike Parr, President of American Bird Conservancy, provided the keynote address. A total of $3,125 in sponsorships was raised and $2,050 in adult registrations (youth were free). After expenses, the proceeds of $3,000 was used to create the Maryland Avian Research & Conservation Fund for Youth. • The Maryland Avian Research & Conservation (MARC) Fund for Youth was created from proceeds of the symposium (above). The Fund is designed to mentor youth to learn how to develop a project scope of work, submit a grant proposal, conduct their project, and write a project summary report. Projects can be associated with avian research, conservation, or community engagement and must include at least one of the 143 Species of Greatest Conservation Need identified in the Maryland State Wildlife Action Plan. A project may take place anywhere geographically where the species spends time in its annual cycle. Grants up to $500 are initially being considered, but this may change as proposals start to come in. The Fund received $465 from the Frontiers in Ornithology Bill Stewart Frontiers Fund and $800 in private donations through our PayPal site to end the year at $4,265. • Frontiers in Ornithology: A Symposium for Youth took place in September. MBCP is a co-founder of this symposium, which is an event for youth ages 13-22 and their mentors. The primary mission of this event is to focus on ornithology, conservation science and related academic pursuits. The two youth keynote speakers were YMOS youth – Claire Wayner and Patrick Newcombe. Proceeds from the event went into the Bill Stewart Frontiers Fund, named for co-founder Bill Stewart who passed away less than two months after the event. The fund was split among three groups that work with youth. The MARC Fund was selected as one of these groups and received a donation of $465. 3. Working Groups • Research & Monitoring o Attended bi-weekly meetings of the Breeding Bird Atlas Committee. More work will be done in 2020 on collecting data for nocturnal, secretive, and other priority species that MBCP will be helping to lead. o Assisted Audubon Maryland-DC again with Important Bird Area monitoring. o Responded to a request by the Neighbors of Mayo Peninsula Steering Committee to conduct an assessment of birds in a 50-acre forest tract. Volunteer Oliver Griffin conducted a survey of the site on June 9. I prepared a write-up with the results and sent to the Neighbors Steering Committee on June 10. • Sustainability o This group had its initial meeting in December 2018 and was active in the first half of 2019 helping develop and review the application criteria for Bird City Maryland. 2 • Bird City Maryland o This new program was launched early in the year. A website (birdcitymaryland.org) was created. An application from La Plata became our first Bird City application and was approved in December. • Forest Habitat o Worked with Eric Sprague on developing “Restoring and Enhancing Maryland’s Forests to Benefit Forest Interior Dwelling Species and Other Forest Species.” This is a scope of work to be used in submitting proposals for funding forest habitat work in 2020. • Communications and Outreach o Web site, newsletter, Facebook, press releases, and other materials coordinated with Dave Wilson and Jim Rapp, per their contract for MBCP. o MBCP Facebook page: 1,328 followers (+48) o MBCP eNews: 198 Subscribers (+2) • Education o This group is primarily focused on YMOS activities. The Maryland Bird Conservation Symposium and the MARC Fund for Youth are the main activities. • Funding o Cecil County government grant for $4,700 to conduct avian surveys on 3 county- owned parcels as part of the Cecil County Green Infrastructure Plan. An initial $1200 was invoiced in their FY19 on May 29. The balance of $3500 will be billed in May 2020. o Cove Point Natural Heritage Trust grant for $13,600 for IBA monitoring. 4. Citizen Science / Volunteer projects • Maryland-DC Breeding Bird Atlas III o As part of the Atlas Steering Committee, participated in development of atlas protocols and targeted monitoring for SGCN and other priority species. • Bald Eagle Nest Monitoring Program o Initiated Epicollect as a new data entry method for 2018-2019 nesting season in addition to the web-based JotForm. o Data manager Greg Klesch stepped down due to personal obligations. New data manager Stephanie Peters stepped in but had to step down after 6 months due to a job change. Recruited William (Bud) and Dell Cline as new data manager team. Volunteer Coordinator Liz Cornett continues in her role for the third year. o Worked with Jim Verhagen to implement NestStory for the 2019-2020 nesting season. At the end of the season we will switch off JotForm and Epicollect data entry methods and use NestStory exclusively starting with the 2020-2021 nesting season. 3 • Maryland Farmland Raptor Program and Chimney Swift Conservation Program o We launched these two new citizen science programs this year addressing three Species of Greatest Conservation Need. The Farmland Raptor program focuses on American Kestrels and Barn Owls. The programs focus on increasing nesting opportunities for these species, with an emphasis on protecting nesting structures and creating nest boxes (Farmland Raptors) and Chimney Swift nest towers. The programs are designed to have MOS and Audubon chapters take the lead in their counties to identify locations and raise funding for nesting structures, recruit volunteers to install and monitor nests, and enter data into a state-wide repository. https://marylandbirds.org/farmland-raptor- program, https://marylandbirds.org/chimney-swifts • IBA Monitoring o 2019 monitoring was conducted by the same volunteers and at the same IBAs as in 2018. o Through Cove Point funding, compiled results from 2018 sites and wrote reports for Idylwild, South River Greenway, and Chapman State Park. Dominic Serino (CCC intern for Audubon MD-DC) created maps for the reports. Did analysis of 2019 data. Working with Dave Curson on writing reports. • Coordination of State and National citizen science monitoring programs o Nightjar Survey Network (Center for Conservation Biology) o Sandhill Crane Fall Survey (USFWS) o Summer Wild Turkey Survey (MD DNR) 5. Other Partnership Action • MBCP became a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in order to increase opportunities for funding from grants and foundations. • MBCP Steering Committee transitioned to the MBCP Science Advisory Council. The Council will continue to provide the direction for research and conservation priorities. • A Board of Directors was formed to oversee the organization’s governance, fiduciary and legal responsibilities. The Chair of the Science Advisory Council is a designated Board position. 4 Figure 1. Map of MBCP Partners as of 12/31/2019. 5 Chesapeake Conservancy National Wildlife Federation 1430 WNAV Maryland LCV Chesapeake Bay Trust US FWS Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay Figure 2. MBCP Partners in the Annapolis area. 6 Table 1. Presentations made in 2019. Who Date # people Topic Where Bald Eagle Nest Monitoring training 1/12/2019 27 Bald Eagles Harriet Tubman URR St Park Bald Eagle Nest Monitoring training 1/19/2019 25 Bald Eagles Downs Park Bald Eagle Nest Monitoring training 2/9/2019 34 Bald Eagles Shepherd's Spring Bald Eagle Nest Monitoring training 2/14/2019 42 Bald Eagles Kent Island Library I Bird. I Vote. 3/2/2019 130 MBCP Update Patuxent National WVC Western MD RC&D Council 3/21/2019 20 MBCP Update Allegany Community College Birds of MD, DE, and DC book signing 3/24/2019 175 MBCP, Bird City MD (display) Cylburn Arboretum The Wildlife Society MD-DE Chapter 4/12/2019 115 Urban Birds/Bird City MD Brookside Gardens Sunrise to Sunset Event 5/25/2019 16 MD birds and Migration Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary MOS Annual Convention (3 posters) 6/1/2019 180 MBCP, Bird City, BBA3 Washington College USFWS Chesapeake Bay Field Office 6/3/2019 30 Bird City MD USFWS CBFO Brewing Up Science 7/24/2019 47 Bird Migration Monument City Brewing Co.