Bird Lovers Program: Bird-Focused Conservation and Birding-Driftless Curiousty

The objective of the Driftless Curiosity Bird Lovers program is to raise awareness, spread knowledge, and share tools and resources which support the bird population in the Driftless Region and beyond.

We will hike the land with our binoculars and field guides to see and hear who is sharing our space. We will learn about participating in citizen science as we collect data on the birds we encounter using eBird. ​This workshop will include a discussion on migratory birds and how we plan to further develop sections of our land into diversified and supportive “Farmland Flyways” utilizing NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service)​ programs and tools like the Beneficial Bird Habitat Assessment and Native Plant Tool by Wild Farm Alliance​ whose goal is to inspire 10% of U.S. farms to join a Farmland Flyway trail, having an average of 5 nest boxes and/or perches each, leading to 1 million structures.​ We hope the Bird Lovers Program inspires the community to practice bird-focused land stewardship in the ecosystems they influence. After the hike, we’ll talk about the practice and benefits of mindful birding and look at birding through the lens of mental wellness.