The registration deadline for FPI’s field course on tropical ornithology is approaching. The course will begin by exploring basic bird biology, as well as the diversity of avian species in the Amazon. This will include both daily exercises and nightly lectures focused on avian natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. Next, participants will engage in a full range of survey methods (mist nets, point counts, line transects), which are crucial for understanding population declines due to climate change, habitat loss, and other causes. Finally, course participants will examine basic interactions between birds and their habitats, review and analyze research articles, weigh conservation issues and strategies, and discuss the implementation of ornithological projects in the wild. Participants from all backgrounds are welcome.
In their free time, participants will be able to canoe in a nearby oxbow lake featuring giant river otters and hoatzins, paddle through a palm swamp while spotting caiman and frogs, and climb a 60-meter tower to view the forest canopy and watch for macaws and other avifauna. COURSE DATES June 16th – July 3rd, 2017 REGISTRATION Course size is limited, spots are filled on a rolling basis until April 17th, 2017 COURSE FEE $2250 (includes lodging, all meals at the field station, and transportation from Puerto Maldonado to the field site and back) PAYMENT ASSISTANCE While we currently do not offer any scholarships for these programs, we do provide an optional peer-to-peer crowd funding platform that can significantly reduce costs. MORE INFORMATION https://fieldprojects.org/participate/courses-2/tropical-ornithology LOCATION This course will be held at the Los Amigos Biological Station in Southeastern Peru. Situated between the Madre de Dios and Los Amigos rivers on terra firme forest rising above the floodplain, this field station boasts incredible biodiversity that includes 11 primate species and 595 species of bird. ABOUT US Field Projects International (aka FPI) is a 501(c)(3) organization chartered to conduct field biology research and provide tropical ecology education.
