Newsroom

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State University and the American Ornithologists' Union will host the Willamette Valley Bird Symposium, a one-day event focusing on research and careers in avian biology, on Saturday, Jan. 24, at the Linus Pauling Science Center on the OSU campus.

The symposium is aimed at high school students, teachers and undergraduates. It is also supported by The Audubon Society of Corvallis and the U.S. Geological Survey Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center. More information is available at: http://www.audubon.corvallis.or.us/wbs.shtml

Eric Forsman, a bird expert from the U.S. Forest Service in Corvallis, will give the keynote talk: "A Thirty-Year Study of Spotted Owls in the Old-Growth Forests of Western Oregon."

The symposium will feature more than 20 short talks on bird research. Among the topics:

• Mercury in Willamette Valley riparian songbirds;
• Snowy plover survival, population and management in Oregon;
• Effectiveness of backyard wildlife habitats;
• The Oregon 2020 project of citizen scientists contributing to Oregon bird surveys;
• New research on Adelie penguins.

Other talks will cover a variety of bird species, including swallows, Aphelocoma jays, Pfrimer's parakeet, songbirds, seabirds, Caspian terns, bald eagles and common murres. Monitoring technology will be covered in talks on solar-powered cameras, use of drones in ornithology, archival GPS tags on diving seabirds, and other topics.

The symposium runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It also will feature a live bird exhibition from Chintimini Wildlife Center, demonstrations of ornithological research techniques, and a panel discussion on careers in ornithology.